Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - June 3 to June 13, 2010 Latest messages listed first..... \/ June 13 Messages \/ Noticed something on the FCC website today... the FCC has discontinued the Tiger Census maps to generate signal plots for FM and TV stations as of last month. So any changes in FM or TV signals after last month come up blank and there will be no signal map for the station. The FCC, typical government, was not prepared for the U.S. Census discontinuing the Tiger Map service. Go figure. (6/13/10) Maynard's gone/cut from 105.7 and the Ed Norris Show...? GOOD RIDDANCE! Maynard was a rather annoying and obnoxious part of the Ed Norris Show. Maynard was barely one generation removed from N.E. Maryland "Deliverance" hill-billys. How did he have a job as a producer on a "sports talk station" when he clearly hated any and all sports, and many listeners (like myself) who criticized him as a pompous, second-rate, wannabe side-kick. By the way, what-the-hell happened to The Ed Norris Show...? It use to be interesting to listen just to hear Norris spew his opinions on news & current events, especially the CORRUPTION & FILTH that govern Baltimore City and 'the socialist democratic republic' of Maryland. But Norris did grow a little tiresome when every segment of the show somehow came back to Norris re-re-telling all of his 'glory days' stories from NYPD (*yawn*) Is Norris still on and does 105.7 allow him to talk news, current events or politics anymore? (6/13/10) Recently heard some classic, vintage radio featuring Bing Crosby You remember Bing Crosby? They were pristine radio transcriptions circa 1946 from the Crosby Philco Show by what was then the marvel of the US Army Signal Corp and the new Ampex tape recorder-- similar to things heard Sunday nights on "Ed Walker's Big Broadcast." I was amazed at the audio quality of the Crosby Show, in spite of the fact that the source material was not a first generation dub. Who knows how many generations down that 16'' radio transcription was? Great guests, and semi regulars, like Les Paul, Al Jolson, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and Spike Jones who played drums on Bing Crosby's original recording of "White Christmas." And speaking of Les Paul, who is no longer around, he was a frequent guest on the Joey Reynolds Show which bit the dust on WOR out of NYC. In his final days Les Paul was a frequent guest. Unfortunately. Reynolds got in the way of meaningful discourse with Mr. Paul. So, I would imagine that those programs have no shelf life. There were dozens and dozens of hours during which time Les Paul might have regaled the listeners with actual stories of the way it really was during the golden age ---and right up until the the very recent past---- but, but, alas that kind of enlightenment was always short circuited by Reynolds. Reynolds, who apparently had no clue or wanted to know anything about the most basic interview 101, or any of the genuine social graces of being a gracious host always got in the way, Those abundant hours of "Les Paul tapes" might have produced a priceless archive otherwise. However, the all night team of "Chicago's WGN 720 " produced many memorable hours of great conversations with Les Paul that are most worthy of future listening as an oral history that even the movies can't bring back to borrow a line from Tom Snyder who knew how to do a great interview when provided the fodder. Some stations I undertand that used to carry Joey Reynolds aka Joey Showey are now carrying The Phil Hendrie Show which is the most creative talk show to come along in quite awhile. . "Sometimes it can be heard locally on the AM 570 skip as far away as Sunshine, Maryland. That signal is reminiscent of listening to Michael Q, Anthony (Bill Quinn) on WINX 1600 while in Burtonsville at Montgomery Donuts. They should've had an FM. Mark Eastwood (6/13/10) While I agree with you completely that the Post piece (late, as usual) should have included a reference to the Fairfax County Times being owned by the Post Co., I think it's a stretch to say that the Times had much to do with the demise of the Observer: * The Observer's decline has been noticeable for three or four years now, at least. Because it did not have a parent company with either deep pockets or bankruptcy lawyers, it was essentially on its own. The death spiral for these types of newspapers moves from first gear to fourth or fifth gear with relatively brisk speed, and while newspapers do manage to hang on for a while, the end is all but inevitable once this begins. * There never was a whole lot of overlap among the advertising bases of the Observer newspapers and the Times papers, either when there were many Times papers across Fairfax, or when there was one. Because they were largely going after different advertisers, the success of one didn't necessarily equate to damage to the other. The Times, then and even more now, wants national accounts and big regional accounts that it can spread across Fairfax County. Its penetration in any one part of the county is largely too small for the mom-and-pop advertisers that local papers covet. I found it interesting that the Post article said the Observer sold from Peggy Vetter (a nice lady, now gone) to the Grein family (a nice group of people) for $200,000 back in the day. That is a remarkably low figure for the era in which it sold, which suggests it was either essentially a gift, ableit a $200,000 gift because Peggy didn't need the money and didn't want to run a paper any more, or it was not making any money at the time of the sale, which I find hard to fathom. I suspect the Greins made back that money some time ago and decided to tread water as long as they could before moving on to other things. So far as I can tell, they did not have the paper on the market recently, although it came close to getting sold maybe three years ago. As for the Connection chain, how they are still in business is a mystery for the ages. Nobody can figure it out. (6/13/10) Dave's response: Yeah, in this local news marketplace it's very likely that the Observer would have gone under even if it didn't have the Post's Fairfax County Times as direct competition. But, I think the Post should have mentioned that is does own a rival weekly community newspaper in its piece on the Observer's demise..... (Now in the PPM age, recall is not the key. It's all about what tone that little pager picks up...) OK, smart guy - you can use that little bullshit theory all that you want. The amount of people carrying a PPM is about 1,350 - give or take. The amount of people that had a diary was 4,000 - give or take. That isn't the issue. Here is a quick lesson for programmers in this "PPM World" (I hate that fucking term". Of the 1,350 people listening to your station, in this "PPM age" (I hate that fucking term, as well), those people will benefit from the "tone" that is given out once a minute. Keep in mind I said once a minute, and not "every sixty seconds". It could happen at 1:06:01 and then again at 1:07:59. Anyhow, I digress. Now - our market has about 4,700,000 people in it - give or take. That leaves us with 4,608,400 people (give or take) that don't have PPM meters. Since they don't "pick up little tones" - and they don't always stare at the radio - they need to be reminded CONSTANTLY of what radio station they are listening to. Why? Because when the arbitrary people at Arbitron decide to shuffle the deck and churn the PPM group (look at the numbers, and see when a station dumps from #5 to #20 in a PPM market in one week - 'cause that's reality!) new listeners come on board. If they hear a station that is just segueing from one record to another - do they stick around to come back to it? Maybe. If they hear "it's 7:14" - do they know where to come back to? Maybe. Do you want to chance it? Especially here - in a very transient market? I don't...and I won't. Just because some asshole at some PPM session hosted by Arbitron said "Our research has indicated that people don't like hearing the station identified..." Horseshit. "People don't consume radio the same way they used to." Correct - but identifying your radio station - at every opportunity didn't make them consume it differently. If you don't tell the other 4,608,400 people where to find you - and who you are - at every conceivable opportunity, you don't know what you are missing out on. Don't believe the consultant and Arbitron hype. Their Kool-Aid flavor is "bullshit" - and it doesn't taste good. (6/13/10) Echoing back to the folks that complained about hearing "WTOP News Time" every minute, this goes back to the original paper Arbitron diary method. This method was based on recall, so the more you hammered your call letters, brand, statement into listeners heads, the more likely they would remember it (recall). New Jersey 101.5 used to use their brand (New Jersey 101.5) 50 times an hour. At one point, their traffic report consisted of the reporter saying New Jersey 101.5 6 times during a report. Now in the PPM age, recall is not the key. It's all about what tone that little pager picks up. This is why WTOP now just says the time, instead of WTOP News Time. Also, this is why jocks on many music stations do not open OR close the mic with the station's call brand. Also, listen to JACK FM. Sometimes a single imaging element does not mention JACK FM! We are in a new age! (6/13/10) I think I can answer the Delmarva NBC question. With WMGM 40, Wildwood, NJ, while its analog signal did reach parts of Delmarva, its DTV signal does not, plus they don't cover any news at all from Delmarva that I'm aware of. Obviously WHAG 25 is just plain silly. But WBAL 11 does at least cover news from Ocean City and the shore occasionally and the weather. As to the DTV subchannel option, I seriously doubt CBS or ABC would allow 2 other networks on a station in a market. Which programming would they promote during their news? It would be a nightmare. I'm surprised WBOC pulled off the CBS & FOX combo without CBS complaining. Stuff like that has to be in the network agreement I'm sure. And by the way, you cannot pick up WCAU 10 Philly in Ocean City at all. But yes, WAVY has a translator somewhere midway towards Chincoteague, but you can never receive it in OC without summer atmospheric ducting because of its extremely low power. As for WRDE, I think Hearst would have some serious words with NBC over that since Hearst has a deal with NBC for many affiliates. (6/13/10) The Baltimore Sun once again changed it's log in procedure to leave comments on stories and it is NOW NOT MAC-COMPATIBLE ANYMORE! WHAT IDIOTS. NO WONDER THE PAPER IS GOING DOWN THE DRAIN! (PS: I mean Safari) (6/13/10) I'm hoping that time will remedy the lack of chemistry between Kimberly Suiters and Aaron Gilchrist on channel 4.And yesterday when Kimberly and Kim Martucci were all giggly over some 80's group that was to perform here, Aaron tried to diplomatically sit there and look interested. Then both Kims insisted that Aaron was familiar with the songs those groups sang..He smiled a bit, but it was obvious that he wished the conversation would just end.. (6/13/10) Again with O'Meara. How about The Edge getting a morning DJ that is closer to 18 years old than 80? Someone fresh and original instead of an old Howard wanna-be. (6/13/10) Re: Dish Network & Salisbury..ah wouldn't South Jersey's WMGM NBC 40 be the better choice for the "local" NBC affiliate in that region than either Baltimore's WBAL, much less Hagerstown's WHAG? Better yet, in this day and age of DTV subchannels ( heck even the Retro Television Network is available in that region ), why didn't WBOC, WMDT or even WRDE hooked up with NBC? Some years back I do recall this question being asked, maybe it was on DCRTV but the response was something like that back 10 years ago or so WMDT and WBOC had made this "agreement" between Baltimore's WBAL, Philly's WCAU and Norfolk's WAVY to more/less stay away from offering NBC locally full-time. No I never did buy that either. But with that being said can one pick up WCAU OTA say in Ocean City. Now as to WAVY, not sure about now but I believe for many years they had a translator on the Virginia Eastern Shore not far from the Maryland state line. I would imagine that at the time the signal had made it to Ocean City but I could be wrong. (6/13/10) I was in DC this evening and had a chance to catch WTOP in "Storm Coverage". One word, CONGRATS! I listened for nearly three hours thinking this is what radio is all about. It was a weekend, I was in the car and I felt informed. I was north of DC, no where near the storm, but I kept it tuned in. Thank goodness for WTOP. Some music stations should take a listen, there is a reason WTOP is #1 in DC, very local and plugged in. One thing I noticed. They seem to have cut back on the WTOP news times. Have to be honest, I kinda missed it! (6/13/10) Dave.....I need to vent a little bit!.....why is it that the news readers in this market, have such horrible diction and delivery, but are still presenting the news? I've been watching ABC 7, only because it leads into the national news with Diane Sawyer, but the locals and in particular Gordon Peterson, who slurs terribly is frustrating and embarrassing!.......but it's not just limited to 7.....any thoughts? Chip Carlson, Woodbridge, VA (6/13/10) Dave's response: When I watch Gordo these days, I get the impression that he'd rather be anywhere else but sitting there in that local TV station anchor chair announcing fires in Rockville and accidents on the Beltway. Been there, done that. Don't get me wrong. He's a great anchor and a solid journalist. Legendary, in fact. But perhaps he should have retired years ago - some advice Helen Thomas should have taken. How does that old Kenny Rogers song go? You need to "know when to fold 'em." Not a sermon, just a thought..... Julie Donaldson is not the newest hire for Comcast SportsNet. She's simply filling in and getting some reps before doing the same for CSN Philly next week. In fact, she'll leave us on Tuesday. Just thought you should know. Thanks for all you do, Dave. Michael Jenkins, Comcast SportsNet (6/13/10) /\ June 13 Messages /\ \/ June 12 Messages \/ Obama can't possibly be the Anti-Christ! According to Kenny Rushton (aka Kevin Metheny) in the film "Private Parts," Howard Stern is the Anti-Christ. (6/12/10) Regarding the previous post concerning Verizon. I'm not sure that I would screw with them. I got my Verizon bill today (6-12-2010) and it said that it was mailed on 6-14-2010. I guess that Verizon has some sort of time machine. BTW I'm sending this via Verizon DSL so with their time machine I guess I'll be getting dial-up speeds soon. (6/12/10) Dave's response: Heck, I once got a Kaiser HMO bill that was dated January 3rd, mailed on January 4th, arrived on January 6th, and was "due" on January 1. Ha ha ha..... Locals coming to the Salisbury market on Dish Network. So I checked it out. The only station listed is NBC Channel 25 in Hagerstown? Since when is Hagerstown in the Salisbury market, cable carries WBAL channel 11. Oh and I guess they don't have agreements with WCPB, WBOC, WMDT, WDPB, or WRDE yet. Interesting, I have an antenna and can receive all of them, but not Channel 25. (6/12/10) I don't think Elliott is doing a post-show on Sirius. I do know from others that he has been quietly courted by Sirius for years and does have a very rarely mentioned friendship with Howard Stern. I don't have Sirius so I can't hear it, but everyone from Stern to Sabean to Karmazin would love for Elliott to be on Sirius. (6/12/10) I'm the OP of the Schultz/Kuhner thread. What I meant to say, and didn't express it well was that I like Jerry Doyle's show a lot. I think he's one of the most underrated hosts out there and it's a shame he's on a signal you can't pick up under a bridge. When he's not there, his fill ins leave something to be desired. Schultz, while he may have better views that Kuhner's "Obama is the Antichrist" shtick, his delivery makes me change the channel. Kuhner I'll at least tolerate in the "train wreck" fashion. I can't take Hannity's dippy callers; he has good guests but solo he annoys me. Anyone know why Jerry Doyle's been out all week? (6/12/10) So now Comcast has added back MASN 2 and FOX News Channel, but taken away HDNET on HDTV sets without converter boxes. Just makes absolutely no sense. (6/12/10) Dave's response: We never got (and lost) HDNet on Comcast here in Reston..... Why leave out the phone company in Lily Tomlin's script? They are just as effed up as Comcast. Just make it Verizon/Comcast, we don't give a flip. I spent 5 hours during the month of May on the phone with Verizon to get a dial tone and DSL line moved from one residence to another. Talk about a comedy of errors. And I am a retired Verizon cable maintenance tech. I was with out DSL for three weeks even though I gave them six weeks notice. You would not believe the BS stories I got and called them on. When my buddy got the install orders it took him 10 minutes each time for the DT and DSL. But the people on the phone do not have a clue what they are doing even after you try and walk them through it. Now they keep calling me asking me to switch to FIOs. Heck they can't get in a DSL and DT line without making it a goat****. I don't have time to deal with another fiasco. Can't wait until I get the bill, I'm sure it will be effed up and I'll have to spend another hour on the phone. Just like Verizon did when they merged with NYNEX, then GTE, the bigger Comcast gets, the more effed up it's going to be. (6/12/10) Game day black-out? No sweat. Anyone having a problem receiving a Nats game on their home TV can scoot on down to the National Theatre... www.shorpy.com (6/12/10) "Dave's response: Anyone know more?" --Ummmm, there is a slight chance I could be wrong here, but....isn't this YOUR job to find an answer to, Dave? (6/12/10) Dave's response: Yeah, but the secret camera and listening device Elliot's Honduran nanny planted for us in his Montgomery County mansion stopped working a few days ago..... (QUOTE) It seems Obama and many Democrats and liberals can not lay off blaming Bush and the Republicans for everything. (END) Rush Limbaugh made it through eight years of the Bush presidency by endlessly yammering about the Clintons, all the way up to Election Day 2008. Obama is the best thing that has happened to Limbaugh's career in a decade. "Talent on loan from God"? More like "rented from Party Depot". (6/12/10) Re Kuhner, Schultz et al: let's keep this about radio and not shift into politics. The point is NOT that hosts have been blaming a sitting Prez for the woes that surround us. They have - point accepted. It's just that Kuhner cannot let a moment of ANYTHING go by without falling back on an easy target. One of these days he'll blame colliding galaxies way out in space on Obama retiring the shuttle fleet. How long can you listen to that before you start moving your lips in anticipation of what Kuhner is about to say next? Teenage boys and hack TV writers invent dick-jokes because they write themselves and guarantee a cheap reaction - Kuhner operates the same way: blahblahblah OBAMA blahblahblah OBAMA. Presto: instant radio show. The defense of Dwight Schultz as a fill-in host is because he can tap and analyze other topics and other developments in the world without feeling obligated to pump more bilge down Pennsylvania Avenue. (6/12/10) I heard Elliot from DC101 mention doing an aftershow on Sirius 100, not sure if he was joking about it or if there's any truth to it. Do you have any info regarding this? Thanks, Ann-Marie (6/12/10) Dave's response: Anyone know more? Thank you for posting the WLMD Radio ad promoting “Confidentially Feminine” with host Art Gliner. After I finished cleaning all the muddy 45s and LP records and helped clean-up the station after Tropical Storm Agnes flooded WLMD in 1972, Chief Engineer Scott Standiford trained me to be the board operator of “Confidentially Feminine”. My recollection of Art Gliner was that he was very patient with me as I learned to operate the boards and screen telephone callers for his show. I was 16 years old at the time, and I didn’t know how to tell my parents (who were very strict about things like this) that I was working on Washington/Baltimore’s most controversial radio program, so I didn’t tell them! Richard Dahms (6/12/10) Classic Lily Tomlin from Saturday Night Live. Just substitute "Comcast" for "phone company". We don't care, we don't have to. www.movieweb.com (6/12/10) I think its pretty darn funny that someone would write to this mailbag complaining that a host was blaming Obama for something. Yea right, no host has ever blamed a president for all the country's woes before. It was so prevalent with President Bush, that South Park was compelled to mock the practice in an episode. Touchy Touchy you Obamaites are. How's that hopey changy thing working for you? (6/12/10) Dave's response: I've always been a political junkie, but lately I've grown tired of the predictable BS from both sides. Now, at 5 PM, I'll often grow tired of Chris Matthews on MSNBC or Glenn Beck on Fox Nudes within a few minutes and flip over to "Bewitched" on TV Land. Chris Dumbasa Plante on WMAL is pure Gitmo torture. I'm now often opting for Ron and Fez on XM instead of Rush at noon. You get the same political rants over and over and over again from both sides. I can't be the only one completely sick of it all. Politics in America, these days, is like a giant spinning ball of gooey crap. Yuck. Oh, good editorial on the subject in the WaPo from Michael Smerconish, who is allegedly heard on DC's 1580..... (RE: "Kuhner cannot do a show without blaming President Obama for something/anything/everything. In fact, I will wager that Kuhner could not do one complete hour without using the word "Obama." This holds true to most show hosts out there. Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity...they are all the same. The entire show is built around promoting their books, tv appearances, mocking OTHER media or Obama this, Obama that.) And it seems Obama and many Democrats and liberals can not lay off blaming Bush and the Republicans for everything. Obama still blames Bush for things gone wrong. Its time for Obama to put up or shut up. Or is he really going to find out "whose ass to kick". (6/12/10) great thing! Maynard is let go from his contract from CBS and and Mike's no-compete runs out! Its like having radio heaven! Mike and Maynard! Two of the most complete funny people on-the-air- On Your Station!!!! Stand by for availabilities God said they'd be years like this!! Mike and Maynard in the Morning! Oh God! (6/12/10) RE: "Kuhner cannot do a show without blaming President Obama for something/anything/everything. In fact, I will wager that Kuhner could not do one complete hour without using the word "Obama." This holds true to most show hosts out there. Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity...they are all the same. The entire show is built around promoting their books, tv appearances, mocking OTHER media or Obama this, Obama that. (6/12/10) Dave, I like your “Comcast doesn’t care” comment. There’s a very logical reason (from their perspective) why Comcast “doesn’t care”: They don’t have to because they don't "need" to! Business is like politics. When you’re the leader and in a position to quash all possible competition, you don’t care because there’s no need to. In business, look at the world’s leading automaker, Toyota. How much bad publicity regarding Toyota have you seen/heard lately? None. Does than mean that Toyota has fixed all its safety problems? No. It just means that they no longer have “publicity problems”. Likewise, look at what happens whenever the Congress and Presidency are in the control of the same party. As for Comcast, another reason why they don't have to care is that they know that their chief competitor, Verizon, is even worse than Comcast is capable of being! –Unsigned Corporate Suit (6/12/10) Dave's response: Exactly right. And what about a merged and more powerful Comcast-NBC? It will care even less..... re: Mike Wise proposal, He explained that it was only a radio bit. Wise told listeners later that he actually proposed a few weeks earlier....re: Radio Begging, Tony K spent the week ranting about a trip to Gifford's Ice Cream and finagled gallons of free ice cream for himself and the crew. Somehow he squeezed in a radio show, of sorts. Yeah, I'm sick of it, too. Some people, those who aren't unemployed, actually have to work for a living. (6/12/10) Dave, regarding your front-page post, "Cable sports giant ESPN's latest network, ESPN 3D, launched successfully at 9:30 AM Friday with the stereoscopic 3D broadcast of the 2010 FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. It's carried locally on Comcast channel 980." Here in Arlington nothing on ch. 980. (6/12/10) Dave's response: You're still waiting to be Xfinity-ized. Once Comcast flips your system to all-digital, you'll get ESPN 3D, too..... Just to add this previous post, "just got a call from the Washington Post asking if I want their weekly Business section for 95 cents a week. I said no. Between that and the 15 cents a week for the TV Week which I also took a pass on, it's like subscribing to an additional newspaper. I'm sick of the Post!" I was at a Giant the other day and there were some contract salespeople trying to sell Post subscriptions by having you enter at "contest" by writing your name and telephone number on the ticket. (As I understand it if you willingly give your contact info to some company, i.e., via an alleged contest or drawing, that they can call you and not violate the FTC's "No Call" rules.) Well, I asked about the 95 cent charge for the business section and the 15 cents for the television guide. He knew nothing about either. It seems that WaPo is only looking for money and I may opt-out of the entire paper when the renewal notice comes. (6/12/10) Dave's response: Not to put the "huge" 12-by-10-inch Stephen Strasburg poster in the Sunday papers going to subscribers is such a cheap, stinko move. Man, Katie Weymouth is such a first class pill, ain't she! Can I opt out of her? Sheesh..... Couldn't agree more about O'Meara/Mickey. Is Amelia gone or what? I tuned in today by chance (Stern off on Fridays) and was hooked once I heard Mike. I think Mike/Mickey is a great combo, I'd listen to them if Howie leaves radio in a few months. All Amelia ever contributed was, ummmmm, well, nothing. Such a bore. Good riddance, if she is indeed history. (6/12/10) Dave's response: 98 Rock's got some ratings worries. It starting to get beat by classic rocker WZBA, The Bay. And it's starting to fall out of the Charm City "top 10," at least in the overall age 12+ numbers. Adding O'Meara to the morning show might just be the ticket to turn things around. It would definitely get listeners in the DC market, who miss hearing Mike on the radio..... And apologies, [not really, smile ] to your readers for the "ahhh" confusion. Just saw that once and ran with it. Now it seems, poor PLB guy is getting Sorce's wrath and listeners questioning. But of course, if Robert Gibbs, WH press secretary handled every question like you with "ha,ha,ha" the world would be a better place. At Geronimo's fun expense, may this Bicknell/PLB guy enjoy his DCRTV fame - no thank you's necessary. (6/12/10) /\ June 12 Messages /\ \/ June 11 Messages \/ I just got a call from the Washington Post asking if I want their weekly Business section for 95 cents a week. I said no. Between that and the 15 cents a week for the TV Week which I also took a pass on, it's like subscribing to an additional newspaper. I'm sick of the Post! (6/11/10) Dear Schultz-hater: Afraid I cannot agree with you. Kuhner cannot do a show without blaming President Obama for something/anything/everything. In fact, I will wager that Kuhner could not do one complete hour without using the word "Obama". Schultz is well-read and intelligent, and can speak knowledgeably on a number of topics; Kuhner is a one-trick pony, and the President is his horsey. When Obama's term is up, Kuhner will be without a reason to do a show. I wish Schultz would land a regular weekend syndicated talk program somewhere. His sane and stable take on hot topics is refreshing. (6/11/10) Shawn in DC is correct, TBS cannot show the Nats-Indians game in the Baltimore-Washington region to protect MASN2. But it is also to protect Channel 50, which picks up the Sunday games. Since we don’t have 50 in HD out here in the Valley, I’m not sure if they provide the HD feed (one would hope so). The game will still be on MASN2HD out here, however. And even the folks in Shenandoah County get to see this one, since Channel 50 is on the cable system. Now, if Strasburg’s next start after Sunday is on Friday night, it’s back to blackout city on Shentel Cable. Charles in Winchester (6/11/10) "I believe he used the term climactical and a few other grammatically butchered vocabulary words in the presence of Ted Leonsis which had to make both Chad and Ted cringe..." AH HA HA HA that is effing brilliant! ... Sorry but Arrington's media experience peaked doing Eastern Motors commercials, and his fool ass has no business sharing the mic with a real radio talent -- yes, it's true, he actually is, like it or not -- like Brad Fukes. (6/11/10) While I couldn't stand the D&M Show due in large part to Don's constant whining and complaining, Mike O'Meara did a great job on 98Rock and he seemed to fit in well with the rest of the crew. It was cool that they started the week with Kirk and then Mike two of radio's best. I guess you just have to put Kirk, Mike, and Steve Rouse on a list of radio legends that have at one point or another walked the halls of Hearst after getting screwed by CBS. As for the talk about dumping 98Rock for WBAL, while Baltimore WTOP, News radio, and Boring radio lovers would go crazy about it, it would be nothing but a step in the wrong direction for radio as a whole. If Hearst could buy 100.7 & flip it to WBAL-FM then sure, but 98Rock is too solid of a station to blow up. While the music selection needs to include some classic 90's & current Alt-rock, the air personalities really hold the station together and makes it one of the few good FM stations in the area. There's a reason why WBAL is AM only, simply because that's the only place where New's/Political talk belongs. Who care's if New's is in stereo or Mono it still sounds the same because it's nothing more than a dead serious guy talking about something that's more depressing to hear than the guy talking about it, and then there's the every 2 second's station ID and news time. Nothing like hearing WTOP news time or WBAL news time like a broken recording, but yet the same people complain about the same songs that are played far much less on 100.3, or any oldies radio than the same old boring Station ID & News time that's given every 30 seconds on a News Talker. Then for those who think that younger people don't know the AM dial even exists, I'm 26 and I know where to find the AM dial it's just that everything talk related found on the AM dial is completely boring to listen to. Maybe that's why DC & Baltimore's highways jam up so easy for no reason people falling asleep at the wheel listening to WBAL & WTOP. lol (6/11/10) FOX5's Matt Ackland has to be the WORST reporter when they send him in to sub for Holly Morris..That constant deer in headlights look and monotone delivery he has does not make him a top choice for such stories..I've seen others such as Sarah Simmons and Stacy Cohan make attempts at filling in, but although I pretty much despise Holly and what I consider her fake "I'm so happy about EVERY freakin' thing" attitude, she's probably the only one on staff who can pull off those, mostly, silly stories she does..And speaking of FOX5, saw Laura Evans on the evening news and boy does she look tired..But hey, she's been spitting out those kids every year, so I can only imagine what toll they're putting on her.. (6/11/10) Time to boycott. Another hour added on for Lavar? Grab your vomit buckets and lets head to hell. Oh wait hell starts on Monday. Another brilliant numb minded decision by some lunkhead with a double-digit IQ. Can we add anymore people with zero radio background and give them a 5-hr show please? I beg of you... no wonder radio blows. I'm done. You could of moved the time and kept four hours.. already too long. Please fire the moron who made this decision. Wait maybe this is it, some vocab and grammar lessons for hour five. This will be a sumptuous idea after all. Uhhhhh vomiting now! C HaM (6/11/10) Dave's response: Well, WJFK's ratings plunge in evenings, so I guess extending the show to 7 PM makes sense..... Mr. Kuhner, I owe you an apology. You are still batshit crazy, and I'm amazed you can get earphones over the tinfoil hat you undoubtedly wear. However, as loony as you may be, you are light years better as a fill-in than Dwight Schultz, (the original) Murdock, from the A-Team. You may be insane, and should probably be committed but your ramblings are FAR preferable to the gibberish of Schultz. I hope Jerry comes back soon. (6/11/10) I'm so tired of dee-jays getting on the air and begging for free shit! Lard ass er Chad Pukes just did it on the LaMar Arrington Show. Of course he said "I'm not looking for anything free." Really fat ass? Then take your sausage like fingers and open the yellow pages! WB Centreville, VA (6/11/10) Inre your rant: There is no way on God's green earth that Mike O'Meara will end up doing mornings on 105.9. He would eat Kenny King for lunch. They would not let Mike be Mike. All you need for evidence is to listen to Kirk McKewan. A true radio personality who is basically reading liner cards. And, I cannot believe Mike would agree to go there and try to perform with handcuffs. Sorry, Dave, but even though Mike would be a perfect fit he ain't going there. Oh, and do not be deceived by Citadel's emergence from bankruptcy. That does not mean they will loosen the purse strings and spend. They just got rid of debt. Citadel, like so many other companies, are not going to turn back the clock and operate like it's 1999. (6/11/10) RANT - Hey Dave, Howabout giving us a break and stop shoving Mike O and Don G down our throats? No one seems to give a crap abut them except you and a very small handful of others. If they were so great they'd still be on the air here. You keep ranting about getting rid of the old has beens here in DC and bringing in new blood. These guys are some of the BIGGEST HAS BEENS DC has to offer. Try practicing what you preach. We don't want them on 105.9 and I am sure they don't want them there either. What we need is some new fresh blood and less talk with more music. (6/11/10) Not sure if I'm consistent with the rest of the 98 Rock morning show audience, but there was definite chemistry between Mickey & Mike O'Meara. Nothing against Amelia, but this is a MUCH BETTER COMBINATION. It was upbeat, alive, entertaining, etc. While opening the studio to his (indirect) competition (McEwen & O'Meara), Mickey displayed diplomacy not typically seen in the industry. I hope this short run creates an opportunity for Mike O'Meara to return to terrestrial radio. PD's - take note of what the listeners want to hear!!! Brian in Towson (6/11/10) Dave's response: I agree. Great chemistry between Mickey and Mike..... (TBS is using pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg as a pinch-hitter for its coverage of the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies game this Sunday.) I think, unfortunately, that in this area you'll only be able to watch it on MASN. (Shawn in DC) (6/11/10) From Radio-Info: FCC Commissioner Clyburn suggests adding TV channels 5-6 to radio service Actually, what Mignon Clyburn did in speaking to the Community Radio Conference in St. Paul was raise some possibilities. As for re-allocating the current Channel 5-6 spectrum, she said “I am not suggesting the Commission move today” on that, but says “I am suggesting…that it is time for us to take a serious look at where these services fit within the overall spectrum plan.” She says Ch. 5-6 “have proven difficult for television broadcasting” in DTV and probably aren’t well-suited for mobile broadband or other digital use. Instead, that area could potentially be used to migrate current AM stations to, and for community radio licenses. Clyburn had other ideas for community broadcasters, including approaching FM operators to use their HD-2 and HD-3 channels. But the Commissioner was probably most hopeful about the “Local Community Radio Act”, already approved by the House and awaiting action in the Senate. Clyburn says “currently, only one Low Power FM operates in a top 50 market”, and the proposed bill would change that dramatically, by removing the third-adjacent channel restrictions on granting LPFM licenses. That would open the floodgates to hundreds of new 100-watt FM stations, even in the most crowded large markets. (6/11/10) Dave's response: Cool..... A little bit of ESR news for ya: Mike Thomas's last day at Froggy 99.9 (WWFG) was this morning. He apparently is headed to upstate New York. Was lucky enough to get the last two hours of the show this morning, so was able to hear his "goodbye" (or as he put it "See ya soon!" Tom in Denton, MD (6/11/10) Great news for TBS and anyone who does not have Fios in the metro DC area since the game is on MASN2 (which does not have an HD channel on Fios) while the woeful Orioles are on MASN. Almost makes me want to switch back to Cox. (6/11/10) I must admit that when I hear Kane, Elliott or the Junks I can tell why they get the audience they have. However being a Sports talk person I listen to 980 and The Fan mainly. I find Czaban entertaining even with his slightly racial Republican undertones. Andy is there simply to make him look better since Andy just wines about yesteryear any chance he gets. Rick Doc Walker and TK are listen-able and I understand the crowd they cater to. I will say TK's backdrop of "chucklers" are annoying, but his demo is loyal. I don't count Mike and Mike and believe they are a waste of air time for the station. Go to WJFK and you get a well researched Chad Dukes with a partner in Lavar Arrington who is frankly hard to listen to. I believe he used the term climactical and a few other grammatically butchered vocabulary words in the presence of Ted Leonsis which had to make both Chad and Ted cringe. For the ratings they are getting, I would think CBS could do just as well with Chad and Rohland together who have been good together. I didn't skip Wise because I find him to be someone who should never be in Radio and it has been a failed experiment at best. Holden Kushner can hold his own, but even his condescending tone often puts me off at times. I believe both stations need dire improvement, but one hires the others fired and they both seem ok with status quo ratings. No wonder sales are struggling for both. - HG (6/11/10) My God! Who the hell is running the Fox 5 Morning News? OK. Holly is out this week, and Matt, Stacey, and Sarah have been filling in for Holly’s beat. This morning the segment is on a dancing/exercise class in McLean. Instead of doing the RIGHT thing and putting Sarah in leotards and a half shirt to cover this program, they send Matt in a sweatshirt. I walked away in disgust after the tease at 7:50 AM. (6/11/10) RE: [ " Comcast's "Diversity" Talk Is All Talk " ].... Thank you Dave Hughes & DCRTV. I've also switched back and forth from a cable box to a direct HDTV connection and noticed odd channel things that basically make no sense. I don't think it's an anti-Catholic thing or a conspiracy or anything that COMCAST is not carrying EWTN. I just think it proves that they really don't know what the hell they are doing at COMCAST! They couldn't make it any more obvious. When they yanked all the basic cable channels, they added HDNet in 1080i and I was like, WTF!? Then they took away MASN and MASN 2 on digital, but now i notice MASN 2 is back on analog! WHY do I get new channels, yet lose all the others on that damn HDTV? IT JUST MAKES NO SENSE. There's just no rhyme or reason for what COMCAST does and it's like they're just screwing all their customers over just for sport. I think people aren't buying into this Xfinity thing either and VERIZON FIOS will just expand as a result whether COMCAST buys NBC or not. They just screwed up, there's no 2 ways about it. Xfinity reminds me of THE NEW COKE! (6/11/10) Dave's response: Comcast here in Reston put Spanish/English music channel mun2 on one of its basic digital tiers a while back but forgot to activate the channel - until I made an inquiry. Then it mysteriously appeared in the line-up. Will Comcast provide a refund to its subscribers who were supposed to get the channel all those months? Nah. Yeah, MASN2/ESPNews is still in analog here on Comcast/Reston. And then there's this: Comcast's bills for its Reston subscribers still (!) fail to list the fact that there's a Reston office to get/return converter boxes and pay bills. The bill only list offices in Prince William County. So, what, a Reston subscriber is supposed drive 35 miles (!) to drop off a box in Dale City? Yeah, they don't know what they're doing..... "You know nothing, and I will no longer waste any more space on a fine forum, such as DCRTV, by dignifying your ignorance." --Do you promise? bAHHHhumbug (6/11/10) RE: Maynard...CBS Radio let Maynard go. 105.7 is taking a hit in the ratings and the lowest rated show is Ed Norris. They hired a real producer to help with the show. (6/11/10) The other day, after posting an item about a Senate bill that will require the FCC to regulate the volume levels of commercials and other program elements on TV, I did two things. First, I emailed my two Senators asking them to support the bill, and then I followed-up with the GM at the San Diego NBC station about this latest development. In return, I received an email from a technical honcho at the station: "Thanks for your note. NBC has been participating heavily in the ATSC standards for audio normalization...which should alleviate this problem over the next year or so. The issues really come from a mix of digital and analog audio sources and playout devices. Depending on what you're watching on (Digital TV with Stereo or 5.1 sound or analog TV with Stereo or Mono) you may get different variation is dialnorm. We are working to standardize on -24dB which should resolve most of the issues, but given the variety of sources, this process will take time. Thanks for your patience and thanks for watching. We'll hopefully see an improvement in the coming months." I'm not exactly sure what any of that means, but they're apparently aware that the Senate is taking steps to rectify the sound level situation. (6/11/10) You know nothing, and I will no longer waste any more space on a fine forum, such as DCRTV, by dignifying your ignorance. (6/11/10) DCRTV, Have you heard anything on Maynard from Ed Norris/1057 the fan ? I heard him earlier this week but not the last three days. And Ed hasn't said anything like Maynard is on vacation I mean he could have and I just missed it. Thank you. Mike Martinez, Chestertown, Md. (6/11/10) Dave's response: Haven't heard anything specific about that, but I would imagine that 105.7 is gonna have to be making some tweaks to its sked. Its ratings could use a booster..... I have noticed Lauren DeMarco has kept her tiddays under wrap for her latest appearances. Also, I REALLY appreciate how comfortable Julie Wright is behind the camera compared to this girl. She is stiff and a tad bit fidgety. (6/11/10) This message is for Al Stein: The WBAL reporter you are referring to is Dina Napoli here is an article regarding her departure baltimore.bizjournals.com. Here is a picture of her (the blonde one) at WBAL-TV examiner.com. Ryan O (6/11/10) Baltimore area radio veteran since 1997. Radio veteran since 1980. Spent the day at a family picnic yesterday with Washington’s WBIG blasting at the pool. Just wanted to share my opinion that I thought it sounded fantastic. Period. Great job! It would be my #1 preset if I could get it clearly. ZBA Baltimore needs to take notes. (6/11/10) Dave's response: You should have heard WBIG back in the mid or late 1990s, when it played a wide range of cool oldies AND had a killer air staff, like Johnny Dark and Kathy Whiteside. Man, it was even better back then..... The day of the big tower in the cornfield is coming to an end. Don Geronimo missed that - tweet. Case in point. I love radio, can’t get enough of it, especially that portion of the FM band below about 92 megahertz. But things are changing in Radioland - have been for awhile.That's why we enjoy DCRTV. I was recently clued into some heavy-duty technical difficulties over at a free-form, student-run station.The station’s radio signal had gone quiet sometime late May, and a week later, the tower was rocking nothing but dead air. Punching up the station in my car produced only static. Well, static with intermittent patches of what sounded suspiciously like Christian rock—perhaps from some far off repeater station bleeding the word o’ God over into the abandoned wavelength. When I called, the station manager said the problem first appeared to be a faulty amplifier tube, but soon turned out to be full-fledged antennae failure. It's been more than two weeks and he is still waiting for the guy from the antenna company to come take a look. You never know when those antenna guys are going to show up. “It should be any day,” he told me. But it turns out that going off the air is not what it used to be. The PD even talked about their transmitter trouble, noting that most of the station’s frequent listeners “hardly noticed, because they routinely tune in via the station’s website,” and the stations Web stream has been flowing quite nicely. And while the station doesn’t track its online listeners vs. its FM audience, the PD guessed the split was 75-25. Weirdly enough, while the tower in the field is becoming extraneous, radio in some ways, is getting better and better. Aside from the profitable Adam Carolla. Leo Laporte, & Bob Brinker podcasts, I listen to a fair amount of National Public Radio via their killer iPhone app, and has mostly stopped tuning into This Week in Science in favor of the weekly TWIS podcast. The best music on Capital Public Radio is probably on their Off Air program, which is a Web-only. Every week, we are updated with some of the best journalism being done anywhere, in any format, in the form of new episodes of This American Life, Radiolab and Planet Money. (All free for the downloading, so support your local podcaster like O'Meara and for that matter DCRTV] See Sorce, we are entering a period that is both the golden age of radio and the end of radio at the same time. Our predictions are backed up by NPR’s CEO Vivian Schiller, who said last week at The Wall Street Journal’s “All Things Digital” conference in Rancho Palo Verdes that “Radio towers are going away within 10 years, and Internet radio will take its place. This is a huge change, and we should embrace it.” See Geronimo, my local free-form student run station just jumped the gun a bit. Sucks for you though. As you have a spare bedroom in your OC condo wired for KHTK broadcasts, you should of purchased a warehouse, began building-out a studio or two and ramp-up to October by producing live & recorded content - yours and other talents - packaging it to subscribers and brick n' motar networks for millions. Oh ya, the same advertisers that have signed-on to your gig at KHTK would have, around the country, joined your new media network too. What the fuck are you and your new "old school" agent thinking? Is it ahhhh or haaaa? (6/11/10) /\ June 11 Messages /\ \/ June 10 Messages \/ Dave: I hope the 980 account exec. who cut the deal with Mervis Diamonds gets a handsome commission. I know Snyder's all about money, but I was kind of ready to hear that Snyder bought a FM signal and programming will be moved to something like 104.1...wrong. Look, Czaban doesn't care about the product and it shows on the air. Pollin's just there for the money until his contract runs-out. What really was tough to hear today was Coach Thompson's show. Come on, Doc has no clue about any other sport other than football and that's kind of stretching things. Things aren't going to change at 980 until all contracts run out and they get some decent managers. (6/10/10) The big announcement that had been touted all week by WTEM turned out to be some bull shit deal with Ronnie Mervis and his jewelry business and the World's Cup. In fact I was so disinterested I turned to WJFK. I was hoping that Czaben was being shifted to a 2am - 5pm show so I wouldn't ever have to hear him. He is incredibly insufferable. I do not know how Andy Pollen puts up with him. Earlier in the show Pollin was trying to tell a story about the Nats 50th draft choice and Czaben, knowing nothing about it, kept interpreting Pollin over and over to show how smart he isn't. (6/10/10) "Stay tuned for the upcoming DCRTV display ad countdown clock under development. Tick-tock." --Dave Hughes, care to confirm or deny this statement? (6/10/10) Dave's response: Ha ha ha..... An unbelievable sighting on Headline News (CNN) this week. An anchor talking about the brand new iphone and is holding a cell phone in her right hand. She says something like, "Steve Jobs unveils the new iphone today. This is not the new phone; just a cell phone, etc, etc." What?!@##@$#%^&^ She is holding a cell phone but not the phone that the news item is about? What has the news business come down to? I cannot believe the news director of Headline News allowed that to happen. Pretty disgusting if you ask me. Or even if you did not ask me. (6/10/10) Don't get caught-up in "pissing contests" Don Geronimo tweets "Looking at places in Sac area now. Will eventually move entire operation 2 Sac, broadcasting from both OC & Sac 4 a while." Is Mike Sorce a liar? Is he really moving to Sacramento? Why the delay? If he doesn't move to SacTown, will he be sued? Stay tuned for the upcoming DCRTV display ad countdown clock under development. Tick-tock. (6/10/10) Press conference at 1 pm today at Verizon Center regarding the Leonsis' group purchase of the Wizards and the arena (see link below). Also, both ESPN 980 and WJFK say they are broadcasting the press conference live....... www.tedstake.com (6/10/10) According to the 5a-10 25-54 numbers that I have in April 2010, WBAL placed 10th in the market, with a weekly cume of 54,900. They are tied wtih WTOP, WJZ-FM. (6/10/10) RE:Jerry, thanks for your piece on Internet stations. I first experienced what your talking about with trying to listen to WINS and WCBS and all the CBS radio stations. CBS is quite open about the limitation. I think it's short sighted by CBS,most folks don't sit at there P/C every moment of the day,but want to listen there radio station as you would have a radio on. I took care of that problem. I got ITUNES and it has hundreds of radio stations and no time or mouse limitations. CORY (6/10/10) Over the last three years I have become an avid user of "internet radio" and I am using it to listen to both local and geographically remote stations. ( Just in case you are not familiar with internet radio, let me know and I will lay the groundwork for understanding all this ). My family and I travel extensively on business and we find that the internet radios allow us to both listen to Washington, DC area stations while on travel, but also listen to those 'foreign' US stations we found on travel while here at home. My family uses three radios, all have the "Reciva" brand signal processing module, and that module has been widely sold to industry, which produces several brands of internet radio. All have similar characteristics because of the underlying "Reciva" brand technology module. There are literally hundreds of thousands of internet radio users worldwide. Now, here's the problem: Radio stations have suddenly begun switching ( in droves ) to an internet streaming method that has made all Reciva radios ( hundreds of thousands of them ) incompatible; listeners are broadly posting inquiries and complaints about this problem on internet radio specialist discussion sites ( see forum.reciva.com ). For me, the Washington area stations include WMAL AM 630, as well as WABC New York and WBAP Dallas Texas. My thinking on this issue is that internet radio purchasers have chosen to use a table-top appliance ( the internet radio ) to listen to stations because their listening is "audio"; these radio stream listeners are not willing to use their computers to receive a flash-enabled stream with video advertisements and mouse-interaction: These users want RADIO. The same users might be willing to interact with a computer screen at some other time, but a RADIO listener is has no time to devote to screen-interaction. Right now it seems that the radio stations are engaged in a business maneuver attempting to increase income by disabling the streams that Reciva users exploit, thereby driving listeners to the new, sit-in-front-of-your-computer measurable and billable streams. I suggest this forced change will only be successful in driving away listeners that might have responded to the radio station's "aural" advertisements... Jerry (6/10/10) Al, I believe you're thinking of Dina Napoli, who also had a role in the Richard Gere/Julia Roberts film "Runaway Bride," which was filmed here in the People's Republic of South Massachusetts, a.k.a. Maryland. For my money though, Sarah Caldwell is the most attractive on local TV--today anyway. Gary, WHFC (6/10/10) Plans are coming together for a Nathans reunion. I hope to announce tomorrow or Friday. Stay tuned. It will happen. Start saving your loose change. Carol (6/10/10) (snip) You know what? I'm not going to get into a "pissing contest" with someone who doesn't even have the balls to identify himself (end snip) ---Too late, you already thrust yourself into it by sending posts in defending a sociopath. And, incidently, the lack of identity proves nothing. It just makes old Paul wonder who this is that knows so much about him. As Dave likes to say....Hmmmmm....Maybe I'm someone Paul talks to on a regular basis. Guess he'll never know. (snip) Just because Paul may have requested that all PLB and AHHH posts, not sent in by him, be removed, doesn't mean that that request was granted or, if granted, that all were removed. (end snip). ---Actually...it WAS granted and openly mentioned by Dave. I ask you again, are you calling Dave Hughes a liar? (snip) If, in fact, PLB is sending emails, perhaps Dave could simply show us the “headers”, from the emails dated AFTER May 18th. (end snip) ---Why AFTER May 18th? Why not, say, January 1st? That answer is simple...because that would ultimately do in Bicknell and confirm everything that's been said about him here. That he is an obsessive, multiple personality nutcase who spends way too much time on this site spreading nonsense and hate. But nice suggestion, requesting something you know Dave will never do here. (snip) I never "claimed" to be an acquaintance or anything else. Who do you think I am? (end snip) True, you never claimed to know Paul directly. But that now begs the question, if you don't know him in any way, why come on a website and valiantly attempt to defend him? Furthermore, you sure seem to know alot about a person you don't know. You ask who I think you are? I don't think I know who you are...I'm positive I know who YOU are. (6/10/10) Regarding volume levels, what the GM of the NBC station in San Diego should have honestly said was, "In the age of cost-cutting, no human will touch audio levels from any source, whether it originates from our reporters, our production, the network, or commercial houses. We are not about to pay a technician to quality-control our audio." Such philosophy also applies to radio and cable TV. (6/10/10) You know what? I'm not going to get into a "pissing contest" with someone who doesn't even have the balls to identify himself. Just because Paul may have requested that all PLB and AHHH posts, not sent in by him, be removed, doesn't mean that that request was granted or, if granted, that all were removed. If, in fact, PLB is sending emails, perhaps Dave could simply show us the “headers”, from the emails dated AFTER May 18th. Wouldn't that put the whole thing to rest? The truth will set you free. DJC PS: I never "claimed" to be an acquaintance or anything else. Who do you think I am? (6/10/10) "With the growing success of his [Paul Bicknell] latest endeavor." Is he not paying to be on the radio anymore? If so, that would mean he has moved up to, say, a public access DJ. - AHHHmen (6/10/10) Dear Dave, I was thinking about some of Baltimore's all-time hottest TV news babes, and a reporter came to mind who worked for several years at a local station (I believe that it was WBAL, but can't swear to it) and then departed suddenly, never to be heard from again, at least not locally. Stories circulated that she left to be a student at a culinary school (in France, I believe). My hazy memory tells me that this all took place sometime in the late 1990's-early 2000's. If you know the name of this woman---she's bright, pretty, low-key in approach, and could have moved up the media ladder had she pursued it---I would really appreciate it. She should definitely be considered for inclusion in the Baltimore TV news babe hall of fame. Thanks in advance for your help. Sincerely, Al Stein (6/10/10) Have any info on ESPN 980's announcement Thursday during the Sports Reporters? (6/10/10) /\ June 10 Messages /\ \/ June 9 Messages \/ Wishful thinking Dave? Or do you know something we dont (yet) - The Baltimore PPM Blurb on the front page has "WBAL-FM" in 7th place... ... coastraven... (6/9/10) The decades-long quest to lower the volume of television commercials may finally be nearing fruition. On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation that would require the FCC to regulate the volume of television advertisements. A while back, I wrote to the GM of the NBC station here in San Diego about the out-of-whack audio levels. She used to work at WRC, so I included a photo from the www.98wrc.com archives (attached), pointing out that NBC once cared about the sound they pumped out. Here's what she had to say: "In this day of central casting and automation it is difficult to maintain consistent audio levels. The programming and commercials come from a number of different sources that are controlled by automation." Hopefully, a new law on the books will inspire stations to finally fix this problem. washingtonpost.com (6/9/10) "Consider this: Suppose Strasburg gets injured and it affects his pitching motion to the extent that suddenly after one great year his best stuff is gone for good. Remember Mark Fidrych?" Hey Schlep-rock! Lighten up! Can we enjoy this for 1 day??? Sheesh! DC sports fans are jaded! With good reason though... (6/9/10) The media tirade against Helen Thomas is as illogical as it is hysterical. Columnist Robert Scheer offers a alternative take on On the Vilification of Helen Thomas. www.truthdig.com (6/9/10) Packer's quarterback craps all over Kornheiser...and he's pretty much dead on. www.jsonline.com (6/9/10) Dr. Demento ends a 40 year run on radio, but the weekly show will continue online. I haven't lived in the DC area since the early 1980s, but I think the show was heard on WRQX-FM (or maybe it was WHFS). chicagoradioandmedia.com (6/9/10) 1. I'll take local sportstalk ANYTIME over syndicated national crap llike Mike and Mike. Even Andy Pollin, who I don't even like. Funny how baseball becomes relevant to Pollin when something big like that occurs. And how he and Czaban discover the NHL during the Caps playoffs series, even going down to Verizon Center - area bars to do their show. They really need to learn that it isn't the 1980's any longer and all Redskins all the time just doesn't carry the same appeal. 2. Hitman's post comes across like a bitter Orioles fan who has just realized that the Nats are on the way up in a big way while the O's remain mired in muck and will continue in that state for the forseeable future. (6/9/10) Wow, another weekly where WZBA beats WIYY. I am sure the 12+ is not close to the men numbers both stations go for, but The Bay must be doing the happy dance right now. I still say Hearst should blow up WIYY and make it WBAL FM and make it sound like WTOP. There are so many ways they could build the news brand with the strength of WBAL TV news in Baltimore. Congrats to WPOC for #1 too. Been a while since they have been there. (6/9/10) Consider this: Suppose Strasburg gets injured and it affects his pitching motion to the extent that suddenly after one great year his best stuff is gone for good. Remember Mark Fidrych? Maybe the biggest flash in the pan in Major League history, for the same reason. It happened to a tremendously promising prospect in the Motor City, it can happen here too. Until proven otherwise, all D.C. sports radio has left to talk about are the good old days. KOF (6/9/10) RE: "I actually give [WTEM] some credit for bumping four hours of syndicated fare in favor of special Nats related programming (something they rarely do for any local team besides the Redskins).While Stephen Strasburg's spectacular pitching performance against the Pirates was no doubt one of the main topics on Mike & Mike this morning, I doubt that it accounted for more than 35 percent of their show." You must not have listened to either show. Mike & Mike (viewed on ESPN2) only talked about Strasburg and the NBA Finals, in that order, while Pollin spent an ungodly amount of time reminiscing about a 40-year old Senators game on WTEM. I have to agree with the original post on this one: I wanted to hear a national perspective on the Nats game, not Pollin's endless spiel about a game he admitted nobody else remembers. The reason WTEM rarely bumps ESPN "for any local team besides the Redskins" is because none of them have had a story this big in years. It deserved more than some local slob dreaming of his 'good old days.' (6/9/10) FOLKS IN DC - GREAT RATINGS FOR MASN ON THE DC/PITTSBURGH GAME WITH THE DEBUT OF "STRESSBURG" 14K'S AND NO WALKS GREAT, BUT THEY PLAYED PITTSBURGH - SO SETTLE DOWN AND CONTROL YOUR BLADDERS - AGAIN THE WORST HITTING TEAM IN MLB PITTSBURGH. WOW, HAVE NICE NIGHT - HITMAN (6/9/10) Living in Fredericksburg we pick up DC radio stations along with Richmond radio stations and of course stations in Fredericksburg too. Y100.9 had become my favorite station in Richmond in the last 6 months or so and really enjoyed listening to The Sludge Nation in the afternoons but then it switched to HOT 100.9 (REALLY SUCK). I wanna know if anyone knows if Sludge has picked up a new station yet? BTW can't wait to listen to Donnie G. on KHTK on June 21ts. Jeff in Fredericksburg (6/9/10) (shamrock Communications, WZBA, 100.7 FM located in Baltimore MD, has an opening for an aggressive performance driven sales professional. If you have exceptional sales instincts, can develop new business, and can turn challenges into opportunities, then we would like to hear from you. Previous advertising sales experience is preferred. Candidates must have a valid Driver's License. Shamrock Communications is a privately owned company that offers a great compensation package with benefits. Email resume and references to bcolon@thebayonline.com. Shamrock Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ...) Really? Its important enough to ask about the driver's license up front? Do they make you drive a truck or something when you sell time at WZBA? (6/9/10) Dave's response: I guess it wouldn't look good for a sales rep to be hopping the bus, or, worse yet, hitchhiking..... The Baltimore Business Journal's Heather Harlan has decided to trade in her poisition as Special Projects Editor and become a full time mom to her two young children. In her farewell column, she lists some of the memories that have shaped the Baltimore region in her 10 years at BBJ including 9/11, Hurricane Isabel, Ehrlich vs. O'Malley, and the Shelia Dixon "gift card" scandal. She will also be giving up her on-air duties of delivering the "Baltimore Business Journal Report" on WBAL-TV's weekend morning news. More in the BBJ: baltimore.bizjournals.com (6/9/10) I can't believe I'm being serious as I'm typing this line: This just in from Facebook. Tricia Lyons Humphries, who married righty talk-show host Rusty Humphries just three and a half months ago, just changed her Relationship status on FB from "Married" to "Single." My first thought was that someone had hijacked her FB account and changed it as a prank. But with comments like "Congrats!!!!!! I'm so happy to hear it!!!!! There were so many red flags with him.... " and "Like Like Like Like Like times infinity. As I told you Sunday you are Tricia again. I am also glad that you are enjoying music again.:)", it appears this is legit. (If it turns out her page was hijacked, Tricia's friends will sure have some 'splainin to do!) Rusty is heard on local stations across the nation and on Sirius XM. Tricia withdrew from her bid for Toledo (Ohio) City Council as a Republican last year, because of what she said were because of "unforeseen changes in my personal life and my own business taking off." She also has a Web site at www.theobama-whitehouse.com. (6/9/10) Rusty just "confirmed" it on his Facebook page, too. God, I hate sound like those TV commercials ("This just in from Facebook and Twitter ..."). (6/9/10) "It's the morning after the Washington Nationals became the first big national sports story for the first time in their history and so, of course, ESPN 980 ... cut their national ESPN feed, which was what everyone wanted to hear, and instead ran several hours of Andy Pollin's meandering monologue about a baseball game he went to in 1971. Talk about a bad joke." I actually give them some credit for bumping four hours of syndicated fare in favor of special Nats related programming (something they rarely do for any local team besides the Redskins).While Stephen Strasburg's spectacular pitching performance against the Pirates was no doubt one of the main topics on Mike & Mike this morning, I doubt that it accounted for more than 35 percent of their show. Pollin and his co-host Mark Zuckerman (a former Washington Times baseball writer) brought on two excellent guests - noted documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and former Senators pitcher Pete Broberg who had a similarly hyped debut at RFK Stadium back in '71 (the 'insignificant' game that Pollin attended). On another topic, while Al Galdi deserves kudos for giving Nationals and Orioles fans a regular forum on his Saturday morning show and being the only host on 980 to bring on guests to discuss the Stanley Cup Finals, where in the world was he going with the stunningly harsh treatment of the passing of college basketball coaching icon John Wooden last weekend? Less than 12 hours after the news broke was hardly the appropriate time to be doing revisionist history regarding Wooden's legendary career at UCLA or lending credence to unproven allegations that he may have looked the other way at questionable recruitment practices by a member of his staff. Inasmuch as Galdi is a huge fan of pro wrestling (a sport rife with phoniness and dishonest practices) and does a regular weekly segment on it, for him to suddenly act all high and mighty regarding Wooden came across as disingenuous and agenda-driven - as if he was trying to make a name for himself by being the one guy on sports talk radio poking holes in the Wooden mystique at a time when ESPN and other media outlets were providing nothing but glowing tributes. Mike, Fairfax (6/9/10) I dont' think Holly was on air today which "may" have been the reason Gurvir mentioned Tom..I've noticed that she tends to do that when Holly's either off or during Gurvir's scheduled early broadcast..However, I've also noticed that when she mentions Tom, she rarely gets a response from the other anchors. Whereas when the other anchors mention their significant others or kids, their co-anchors usually chime in with a remark or two..And what's up with Steve Chenevey missing in action again?..It seems like he works a day or two, then he's off for a day or two, then back for a week, then off again..It appears that he's the only anchor who has this erratic schedule.. (6/9/10) (RE: WTEM is ahead of WJFK by two spots in the (25 - 54) which claim to be the most important demo's for advertisers. I suppose talking only Redskins IS all that matters in DC. So what now for programming, since the entire roster is returning to do it all again?) And last month, WJFK was seven spots ahead of WTEM. So it looks like they're battling back and forth. Neither station is perfect or has a dominant signal, so I would expect them to continue to be about even. (6/9/10) Dave: A total joke this morning on 980. If that was to be a money making venture by selling spots for a Nats special, someone needs to make a better decision about talent. Pollin could not have been any less interested or more self-serving as a host. How could you ever say on-air that it's all about the Redskins. Hey Andy, your salary comes from ad revenue, give the clients what they want, Nats talk! It's another example how there's no one running the asylum. I can't wait to hear the recycled material and b-s Czaban's going to give us during the "Sports Reporters." (6/9/10) Don Geronimo's racist tweet? Oh No, is national pressure and advertiser boycott quietly mounting on CBS/KHTK to fire Sorce over questionable tweet? "Stuart Scott's glass eye is fighting against the blood vessels in his skull, straining to stay in socket." Stay tuned (6/9/10) Did you hear Mike and Mickey talking about you this morning? (6/9/10) Dave's response: No. What'd they say? Anything nice? WTEM is ahead of WJFK by two spots in the (25 - 54) which claim to be the most important demo's for advertisers. I suppose talking only Redskins IS all that matters in DC. So what now for programming, since the entire roster is returning to do it all again? - NYC Suit (6/9/10) "I happen to know, for a fact, that Paul is not writing any of the recent posts attributed to PLB or AHHH" -Again, it was publicly stated here just a few days ago that Mr. Bicknell asked that all PLB and AHHH posts not sent in by him be removed. That being said, the remaining posts signed by PLB and AHHH must be his. So how can you, an acquantance of Bicknell (a claim I don't believe, might I add), claim that he is not posting anything here? Clearly he has, and still is! Unless you and Mr. Bicknell are calling DCRTV Dave a liar. Are you accusing Dave of lying to his readers? (6/9/10) Dave's response: Ha ha ha..... So what if the media went a little Nat-shit crazy for Strasburg? When you've been covering a last place-to-middling squad in a mostly empty park, what's the harm in powering up the hype machine? (6/9/10) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Shamrock Communications, WZBA, 100.7 FM located in Baltimore MD, has an opening for an aggressive performance driven sales professional. If you have exceptional sales instincts, can develop new business, and can turn challenges into opportunities, then we would like to hear from you. Previous advertising sales experience is preferred. Candidates must have a valid Driver's License. Shamrock Communications is a privately owned company that offers a great compensation package with benefits. Email resume and references to bcolon@thebayonline.com. Shamrock Communications is an Equal Opportunity Employer. (6/9/10) It's the morning after the Washington Nationals became the first big national sports story for the first time in their history and so, of course, ESPN 980 (or WTEM, or WWXX -- whatever that station parked at 94.3FM is calling itself) cut their national ESPN feed, which was what everyone wanted to hear, and instead ran several hours of Andy Pollen's meandering monologue about a baseball game he went to in 1971. Talk about a bad joke. (6/9/10) Are there likely to be more changes forthcoming in light of the change in direction at channel 4? Has Comcast had their hand in some of the changes going on at channel 4? Boy once those mastermind suits get a bee in their bonnet there's no changing. See radio station The Fan. Hey I bet Holly Morris is thrilled with gurvir mentioning the hubby, stay classy and keep wearing the low cut blouses even though you ain't suppose too look. AWWWWWchu! (6/9/10) Curious....who came up with the idea that Mike O"Meara is a "radio GOD"? Mike himself? The fans? If O'Meara is a radio God what does that make Ed Walker? Jack Diamond? Elliot? Hell even Jeff "Goldie" Gold? Shouldn't they be considered radio gods as well? Funny, when I hear the term "radio god" or even "..the Jesus Christ of radio" it reminds me of an announcer I was reading about many years ago who had worked for New York's WINS and WNEW named Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers. The story I remember reading as I can recall Pete out of the bue had started calling himself a radio god, actually it a got to a point where he started to believe he really was. OK he had the right to feel that way. Anyway as the story goes Pete Myers had shot and killed himself in 1968 because WNEW had moved his show from afternoons to evenings. Hmmmm...got to be more to that story. (6/9/10) (If Bonneville were even smarter, which they are not, 107.7 / 1500 could be used as a more headlines only approach to news, with 103.5 covering topics more conversationally or in depth yet sill maintaining two differently programmed all news formats. MLB4). Right you are! A dominant # 1 in the ratings, the # 2 highest billing station in the nation, and more National Murrow Awards than any other station in the country. Those guys sure are dopes! (6/9/10) Dave's response: But, Bonneville missed the boat big-time by not flipping 104.1/103.9 to sports talk as Score 104 back before Lil' Danny bought WTEM and CBS flipped JFK to sports talk. Huge missed opportunity for B'ville DC..... I happen to know, for a fact, that Paul is not writing any of the recent posts attributed to PLB or AHHH. I posted, briefly, a few months back but, although there's a lot of good information exchanged, here, and greatly benefits the local media community, I found that there's also a lot of gossip being bandied about. I got tired of the lies and innuendo, and so has Paul. He just doesn't want to be involved, with it, any longer. With the growing success of his latest endeavor, he no longer has time for the pettiness. DJC (6/9/10) Oh it's so cute how ESPN 980 shows that they are on the Strasburg story by having Andy Pollin go live this morning instead of airing Mike and Mike! After a caller said "hey its great youre doing thisYou know a lot about baseball", Andy made some comment like "Yeah well I dont usually show it off because all we do is Redskins." Ok, thats not exact, but that somes it up, and all I could think was "no d'uh." (6/9/10) (RE facebook.com/dcrtv) WOW! All the media gurus, DJs, and TV meteorologists ALL chimed in on bad food at the same time! TOO FUNNY! LOL (6/9/10) I find it interesting that Gurvir LOVES to name drop her husband or mention him in anyway possible on the air. She is always talking about her "husband" or "Tom" this or "Tom" that... (6/9/10) Lisa D. lives in Georgetown. She's not "based" in L.A., though she does travel there part of the year. Thanks for correcting this. (6/9/10) Dave's response: Thanks. I'll forward your request to the DCRTV ombudsman, Grandy Alexander..... (snip) Big Announcement from Chad Dukes: "I will continue to deliver mediocre ratings while doing a daily interview of a mediocre former NFL linebacker". I have the #21rst ratings to prove it!... (end snip) -OMG this IS FUNNY! (6/9/10) How to succeed in journalism - BOSTON (AP) - The wife of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts is leaving her longtime job as a Boston television news reporter and will be working at a Washington TV station. Gail Huff says she is stepping down from WCVB-TV to spend more time with her husband and their daughters, Ayla and Arianna. She calls it one of the most difficult decisions of her career. Huff says she has accepted a part-time reporting job at WJLA-TV in Washington and plans to split her time between the capital and the family's Massachusetts home. Huff did not campaign for her husband and has avoided covering stories about him before and after his upset win in the January special election to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. (6/9/10) /\ June 9 Messages /\ \/ June 8 Messages \/ Big Announcement from Chad Dukes: "I will continue to deliver mediocre ratings while doing a daily interview of a mediocre former NFL linebacker". I have the #21rst ratings to prove it!... (6/8/10) Hi, I'm so mad. I have direct TV without HD TV, and I can't get tonight's game. I'm watching the game on MLB from my mother's house using my Slinbox. Thanks, Grant (6/8/10) Re: "Dave's response: Hey, someone just sent me the male age 25-54 demos for the 3rd week of May and WVRX is 4th and WJFK is 9th. Hmmm..." What is WBIG in Male 25-54? That is the real question (6/8/10) Dave's response: 15th..... Oh boo hoo hoo. People with FIOS cannot see the Nats game in HD tonight. Ask the people of Shenandoah County how THEY feel. They cannot see the game AT ALL on Shentel Cable. If they have Dish or DirecTV, they are golden, but the majority of folks have cable and they are out in the cold. Even in Stephen Strasburg, Va. Charles in Winchester (although in Shenandoah County tonight) (6/8/10) Any word on who was involved in the dust-up between a sales guy and a manager at the CC DC cluster? We’ve got a bet it was someone from Bonneville who now works there…. (6/8/10) Regarding the comment about the new weather guy actually having a degree in meterology, the current weather people on NBC4 also have degrees in meterology..Channel 5 is probably the only local channel where all of their weather people aren't meterologists. (6/8/10) Those of you complaining about WTOP's lack of news content: where have you been? WTOP has been serving up pap, crap, and nonsense for 20 years or so. But, because advertisers love it, it will never change. (6/8/10) Re: "...I know enough history to point out that Israel was NOT a creation of America." When President Truman ignored his diplomatic corps who correctly predicted today's problems, and signed off on the bill that resulted in the creation of Israel in somebody else's country, he said "Even Jesus Christ couldn't satisfy these people." Source: "Truman" by David McCullough. Robert, Arlington (6/8/10) Why the big deal about 4's new weather guy? He's the same age as Dan Hellie. They're 35. He actually has a degree in meteorology. Lighten up WaPo. (6/8/10) So what rumor is true Don is buying 101.1fm Hitman is buying 1590 and hanging an FM on the tower and two of the most loved/hated guys in radio will be sharing the same hometown...Is there room enough? (6/8/10) Tweet from Chad Dukes: "Bout to have a BIG announcement about the afternoon show in the near future. Funny that fraud on the site that lies knows nothing about it." Ouch. (6/8/10) Dave's response: He must have meant "fraud OF a site that lies knows nothing about it." Ha ha ha. Hey, "Sexy Sam" Rogers has threatened to castrate anyone at JFK who talks to DCRTV..... (snip) Back when I was living next door to Abe Lincoln and Don Geronimo was a young lad ...is this more like it? Ahhh-rightynow (end snip) -OMG this IS FUNNY! (6/8/10) A runway at Reagan National Airport has closed after a vintage airplane crashed Tuesday morning. The plane landed before pitching forward and rolling over. The plane was carrying the pilot and one passenger--a Washington Post reporter. They were not injured. (Ashley Halsey III/The Washington Post) (6/8/10) Back when I was living next door to Abe Lincoln and Don Geronimo was a young lad ...is this more like it? Ahhh-rightynow (6/8/10) "I don't think the signed AHHHH is PLB. Once was, but the recent posts don't sound like Paul, don't even read like Paul." If it wasn't Paul, Dave would have removed the posts. He did just that last week and admitted that the reason for it was that someone else used "AHHH" instead. So, if Mailbag signatures are to be unique now, and Dave didn't delete the more recent posts....Let's see, how would Dave say it? Hmmm.... (6/8/10) Is it true that with Helen Thomas in exile, Les Kinsolving replaces her as Senior member of the White House Press Corps ( the p is silent)? If so, does that mean he takes her seat front & center at the Press Briefings? I hope so. I love watching Gibbs squirm with discomfort at Les’ unpredictable queries. Rock Balmer’ (6/8/10) It pains me to write this when so many real radio topic are begging for input, but I don't think the signed AHHHH is PLB. Once was, but the recent posts don't sound like Paul, don't even read like Paul. Maybe Dave could clear this up. "Move America Forward is excited." Ed Graham (6/8/10) "I'm sorry, exactly what was Helen Thomas fired for, giving an educated opinion? Are people so brainwashed that they have no clue about the foundations of the Israel-Palestine issue? You know, in the part of the world that Muslims lived in peace until America told them that we'll just dump the displaced Jewish populace into your country without your input? Geez, people wonder why Palestinians hate America. Cheerleading, not facts, rule the day in the U.S. of A..." You are an idiot. The USSR was one of the driving forces in the creation of the state of Israel, but do not let facts stand in the way of your myopic vision. Does your pious indignation extend to the 20-30,000 Kurds the Turks murdered in the last thirty years? (6/18/10) "...I know enough history to point out that Israel was NOT a creation of America." Grab a history book, and turn to year 1948. Thanks... (6/8/10) Dave. I've heard Elliott talk about the "wrestling" match twice on his show since you started writing about it. He said that it took place years ago and both guys are fine. He said that (a top exec) was involved and then they questioned whether the sales guy had to pay out of his own pocket or if the company paid for it. But, he joked about secret meetings and potential firings. He did confirm that morale is low and the place is a revolving door in he sales department, but not because of the wrestling match. That he said was just because it was Clear Channel. (6/8/10) PREVIOUS POST: ("until America told them that we'll just dump the displaced Jewish populace into your country without your input..." WTF? While I disagree with much of Israel's strategy in the conflict with the Palestinians, I know enough history to point out that Israel was NOT a creation of America.) What does that post have to do with DC Radio & TV? (6/8/10) Some time back, I seem to recall that Paul Bicknell noted that he was a "senior" member of AFTRA. I have to wonder how responsible it is for a member of this union to go onto a public forum such as this (Under the thin guise of "AHHH") and constantly bash another DJ. Hasn't Bicknell noted previously that, in the past, DJs were helpful and looked out for each other? I wonder what legendary mentor taught Paul to make public comments about another DJ's wife and graphic comments about his mother? Way to represent your brethren, Paul! - AHHHmen (6/8/10) "until America told them that we'll just dump the displaced Jewish populace into your country without your input..." WTF? While I disagree with much of Israel's strategy in the conflict with the Palestinians, I know enough history to point out that Israel was NOT a creation of America. (6/8/10) It's true that the morale at 1801 is low. It always has been and the announcement of further job cuts and commission slashing coming in the fall aren't helping matters. Meanwhile, from multiple people in the building I heard that the story of (the) assault on (a sales person) has been blown out of proportion somewhat online. Both (participants) were wrestlers in high school and the match between the two was supposed to be a friendly competition... Despite the friendly nature of the match, this still could be just an excuse to get rid of (Hartley) Adkins who has failed to turn the ship around locally. While radio revenue is on the rise nationwide, CCDC continues to struggle under his leadership. Couple that with the pressure Clear Channel is facing to pay back its debt and you could have the perfect storm to rid the place of Adkins, which would bring a smile to more than one face in Rockville. Regardless, nobody I've talked to in the building is a fan of his and fewer than that actually believe in his business plan and structure. Hell, one sales guy called him "a tool of the first degree." (6/8/10) It is true that the winner of Ford Frick Award is not considered a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. They are indeed honored in another part of the Hall, but not where the iconic plaques are located. When you see t-shirts and other items in Cooperstown that show the list of Hall of Fame inductees over the years, you will not see the Frick winners. That having been said, winning the Frick Award is a huge honor for a baseball broadcaster (And Miller certainly deserves it). I think where some of the confusion in some people may come from is that, on Induction Day, the Frick Award winner is allowed to make a speech at the microphone just like the players, managers, etc. are afforded. Sincerely, James (6/8/10) So Howard Stern thinks the Republicans are responsible for the oil leak? Has anyone told Howard that Obama has been president for almost a year and a half now? Just wondering.... BTW, to the guy who suggested that WJFK put "Kevin and Rock" on instead of Arrington, gimme a break. Kevin and Rock is the most juvenile, insipid "sports talk" radio show I ever heard. It is okay for weekends because at least it is local. But man, it is BAD radio. Don't think that show will EVER be ready for prime time. (6/8/10) Dave: Great rant re: Lisa de Moraes. I love the "tip of the old rabbit ears" line. Brings back memories of when the TV column used to provide actual news provided in a straightforward fashion, with just a little humor to season it, rather than the can-you-believe-I-have-to-cover-THIS-bogus-industry tone of Lisa's coverage. That tone is fun when she's covering "American Idol" or some "we watch so you don't have to" program, but straight news reporting ain't here strong suit. For that, I come to DCRTV. Christian (6/8/10) Dave's response: Hey, no one's ever accused me of being "straight" about anything. BA DA BING. Look, I like Lisa's column. But she's never covered local TV news. It just seems kind of odd that she's starting to now, especially with her still based in LA..... Dave: So, let me get this straight, based on the weekly radio ratings: WVRX, aka "105.9 The Edge," supposedly a Big Loser in terms of listenership, is now TIED with WIAD, which, you've reported, per sources, has been making big gains in recent months? And WVRX had more listeners than WJFK and former Top 10-er WGTS? I guess this is good news for WVRX listeners like me, even though it's only a one-week snapshot. Christian (6/8/10) Dave's response: Hey, someone just sent me the male age 25-54 demos for the 3rd week of May and WVRX is 4th and WJFK is 9th. Hmmm..... (snip) The only thing Howard Stern is ''calling'' for is his daily helicopter ride to his giant, air conditioned mansion in the Hamptons that was, more or less, paid for by his dopey listeners (end snip) -OMG that IS FUNNY! (6/8/10) The only thing Howard Stern is ''calling'' for is his daily helicopter ride to his giant, air conditioned mansion in the Hamptons that was, more or less, paid for by his dopey listeners [like myself] who bought into his ''revolution'' who shelled out a few hundred bucks to feed his ego. Howard's just a complete hypocrite now. Funny at times. But it's hard to take anything he says seriously. Paul (6/8/10) WOOK-AM, initially licensed to Silver Spring, signed-on in May 1947 at 1590 kc. But in November of 1951, Richard Eaton bought WINX-AM 1340 kc for about $124k from the Banks family of Philly and moved it to Rockville on 1600 kc. WOOK took the now open 1340 kc slot on the AM dial, inheriting the old WINX xmtr site at 8th and Eye Sts. NW, but would eventually move to Eaton's WFAN tower at First Place & Riggs Rd, N.E.. More details at DCMemories.com... It was back in 1938 that WOL moved its xmtr from 1111 H street, NW to Agar Road in Chillum while boosting power from to 100 watts to 1000 watts and switching from 1310 to 1230 kc.The station would be shifted again up to 1260 on the dial during the "Radio Moving Day" in March 1941. At the time, the station was owned by an entity called "American Broadcasting Co." which had no relationship to Ed Noble's ABC that would evolve from the NBC Blue Network. See the articles at DCMemories.com... (6/8/10) Did anyone notice this besides myself? Last night Comcast Sports Net carried the Hershey Bears Calder Cup final round game. I'd like to take credit for it after several emails to the owner of the Caps and frequent calls and emails to ComcastSpNet. They only reason that I knew it was going to be on was a tiny listing in the Post tv sports lineup. (6/8/10) I'm sorry, exactly what was Helen Thomas fired for, giving an educated opinion? Are people so brainwashed that they have no clue about the foundations of the Israel-Palestine issue? You know, in the part of the world that Muslims lived in peace until America told them that we'll just dump the displaced Jewish populace into your country without your input? Geez, people wonder why Palestinians hate America. Cheerleading, not facts, rule the day in the U.S. of A... (6/8/10) "Compare it to KYW, WINS or WCBS and the news content on WTOP is overshadowed by the simpleness and fluff." Wait, did I write this...or just think it? Honest, this was posted by someone else, but I've had the same reaction the past few weeks. Monday a.m. on WTOP was the worst...dozens of minutes wasted on mindless chatter about pizza, "knuckleheads in the news," the traffic lady singing, uninformed small talk about Strasburg with "Davey," and complimenting whoever Channel 7 put up to do weather on this mild weather we're having.(I often wonder whether Mike Moss really understands that meteorologists don't control the weather.) I recently got a Squeezebox clock radio, which lets me tune in any station on the Internet; I've listened quite a bit to 1010 WINS in the past few weeks -- the difference in presentation is notable. In their patented 22 minutes, WINS presents a full newscast, without all the "Lite FM" BS that dominates WTOP's morning news. I will say, though, get past the morning drive, and WTOP's format vastly improves. Oh, and to the person complaining about an "assinine" comparison about Howard Stern -- one "s" in "asinine," dude. (6/8/10) The statement by the Wash Times publisher seems like a non-denial denial. The statement said that they weren’t negotiation with anyone, but he did not say that the paper isn’t for sale. If they are shopping it around maybe there are no takers. (6/8/10) Dave's response: The Washington Times has always been a giant financial black hole its entire history. Who would want it, other than maybe the name, which doesn't carry all that much "gravitas" any more..... Every year the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY hands out the Ford Frick Award to a baseball broadcaster. That person's name is inscribed on a plaque that hands outside the library at the Hall of Fame. There is no "broadcaster's wing" of the Hall of Fame and there has never been one. The Frick winners are not considered Hall of Famers. They are not represented in the Hall that houses the plaques of the actual players, managers, pioneers and executives of the game. Chuck Thompson, as great as he was, is not a member if the Baseball Hall of Fame. Anyone who works there will confirm this, as will this year's winner of the Frick Award, Jon Miller. (6/8/10) Move America Forward is excited to announce the addition of Comedian and Talk Radio host Dennis Miller, Talk Radio host MANCOW and Noel Sheppard from NewsBusters to our slate of guests for the upcoming Troopathon. Dennis Miller is known not only for his striking political commentary and uncommon sense of common sense wisdom, but also his amazing success as a comedian. Miller’s comedy shows on HBO were hugely successful for over 9 years, as well as many stand-up specials he made successful. In the political world Miller is a master of blending comedy with political opinion and common sense understanding of the issues. Miller is a huge supporter of our troops and is national spokesperson for the pro-troop charity USA Cares which supports wounded veterans and 9/11 families. Mancow. The name sounds strange, the man seems even stranger! But despite his eclectic style and hip attitude, Mancow Muller is a dedicated supporter of our brave troops and their missions in the War on Terror, he even allowed himself to be waterboarded to challenge the thought that it's inhumane torture when used against terrorist detainees at GITMO. Mancow is an absolute patriot and on his daily radio show advocates for common sense to strengthen America and keep us safe from our enemies who have sworn to kill us. Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters, which is an amazing resource for conservatives as they scour the internet, TV, and radio for the best examples of the liberal left bias in the media. Noel Sheppard is also a contributor to the National Review’s “Planet Gore” as well as one of the best blogs on the internet – “American Thinker” This 8 hour live broadcast is hosted by Melanie Morgan, talk radio veteran and pro-troop advocate . The group invites well known celebrities to come on the show and talk about their support for the troops, the sacrifices they make for our country, and encourage the audience to make donations throughout the show to support men and women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The overall goal of the show is to raise money to send care packages to troops in the Middle East. The Troopathon airs July 1st live from the Richard M. Nixon Memorial Library in Yorba Linda, Calif. from 1pm -9pm Pacific Time. (6/8/10) RE: [Funny thing is, didn't Howard Stern leave terrestrial radio due to all of the FCC regulations coming down on him? And didn't he leave for a virtually unregulated industry?] What an assinine comparison....open your eyes...this is pure apples and oranges, pal. Permit me to elaborate: FCC regulations are fundamentally intended to protect community standard of morality and assure that no one person can monopolize all media. Oil regulations are intended to assure that a profit-driven industry must comply with basic safety standards in order to avoid needless death and injury as well as prevent catastrophic environmental damage to our planet. To put it simple, if some idiot slips up and says "be-yotch" on the radio, eleven people don't die, tens of thousands of endangered turtles, pelicans and dolphins are not wiped off the face of the planet and and one fifth of our Nation doesn't face the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars in critical revenue well into the future. Can a person really be so dense that they cannot comprehend the difference? (6/8/10) (regarding a previous post) "[Stern] called for more regulations in the oil industry. Funny thing is, didn't Howard Stern leave terrestrial radio due to all of the FCC regulations coming down on him?" Whether Stern was regulated or not, has no bearing on this situation. 11 people died in the oil rig explosion. The lives and livelihoods of thousands have been disrupted and so far, the tab for clean up and initial claims paid, have cost $175-million. This is a catastrophe of historic proportions, which might have been prevented had even basic oversight and regulation practices been followed. (6/8/10) WYCB was diplexed with WPGC-AM at the WPGC-AM backup site (which is the FM main site) in District Heights, MD for some time from the 1980s through early 2000s. WOL had remained during that time at the telephone company lot near Union Station. The cost of the lease renewal forced WOL to move and politics caused the move of WYCB. Both stations have now been force-fitted, (or is that forfeited?) onto the 1st Place tower at Riggs Road in upper NW DC, which is also the backup site for WMMJ and WKYS. That site, with a different tower, was once home to 100.3 and for a time home to backup sites for 100.3 and 103.5 (6/8/10) How is it that WTOP continues to do so well? This morning over ten minutes were spent in a half hour period discussing the Washington Nationals. Not really even an analysis of the new player, but rather moronic reports on concessions and Metro. The repetition of the same accident on I-95 with Lisa Baden's constant rambling and chuckles were mixed in with more chuckles and banter with every live reporter and the anchors. In this same 30 minute period, there were basically TWO stories reported on. Ever listen to WTOP and ask yourself, "What news did I actually get out of listening?" There is simply not enough stories covered anymore on WTOP. Compare it to KYW, WINS or WCBS and the news content on WTOP is overshadowed by the simpleness and fluff. What would give WTOP a run for its money is a hard news approach with more stories covered every half hour. If CBS were smart, which they are not, 94.7 or 95.5 would have been all news a few years ago. If Bonneville were even smarter, which they are not, 107.7 / 1500 could be used as a more headlines only approach to news, with 103.5 covering topics more conversationally or in depth yet sill maintaining two differently programmed all news formats. MLB4 (6/8/10) Interesting conversation from Howard Stern on his show yesterday. He was railing on the Bush administration (as well as previous Republican administrations) for the deregulation of the oil industry, which he says led to the Gulf oil spill disaster. He called for more regulations in the oil industry. Funny thing is, didn't Howard Stern leave terrestrial radio due to all of the FCC regulations coming down on him? And didn't he leave for a virtually unregulated industry? (6/8/10) Dave's response: It's the way federal regulations work here in the USA. You have the regulated doing the regulating. Look at the communications biz. The FCC is literally composed of communications industry types who are going to approve the awful Comcast-NBC merger. I joke about it, but there's a sad truth there in my jest that, after it merges with NBC, Comcast will take over the FCC, too. It's already pretty much happened, baby. If Obama doesn't put an end to this, I ain't voting for him in 2012..... Seems like Jessica Starr is out on Baltimore Fox 45 and Emily Gracey formally of WMAR TV2 is her replacement. Gracey was on all weekend and now doing the AM Home Town Hotspot segments Can you confirm? Thanks, Rob (6/8/10) As Roddy remembers, when 1450kc AM first hit the air on May 3, 1941, the main AM xmtr was located off North Capitol Street, just north of Union Station at 61 Pierce Street, NE. The calls for 1450kc at the time were WWDC. The station was allowed to construct a booster on the same 1450kc frequency and its xmtr was originally located along East-West Highway in Rock Creek Park The booster site was sold to WINX 1340kc in late 1947 when WWDC moved its AM booster to its FM xmtr site in Rosemary Hills. WWDC moved over to 1260kc on February 20, 1950 and the new owners of 1450kc took the calls WOL which gave the appearance of a "swap" in frequencies. The transaction was much more involved than just a swap as can be read here, DCMemories.com along with some other related history on WOL. (6/8/10) I know Amelia is just on vacation, but for some reason I find it weird that Kirk is filling in the first 2 days of this week and then Mike O'Meara is filling in Wednesday through Friday on 98 Rock's Morning Show. IS there any chance of some kind of changes coming to 98 Rock soon? (6/8/10) As DCRTV reported, Morris Jones has taken over the evening newscasts on Newschannel, as he debuted Monday evening. (6/8/10) Smooth move there, Helen. - Jimmy the Greek (6/8/10) /\ June 8 Messages /\ \/ June 7 Messages \/ I'm not Dave Loudin and don't pretend to have his technical knowledge. But I do know the approximate locations of the old WOL and WOOK transmitter sites. WOL was on top of a building several blocks northeast of the U.S. Capitol. I'm just guessing on the streets, but it was somewhere around Florida Avenue NE and P Street NE. The WOOK tower was a self-supporter that was visible from the train platform at Union Station. It was somewhere around G Street NE. I'm thinking that tower was torn down and rebuilt although based on what Mr. Loudin said, it's probably not used by 1340 these days. Roddy Freeman (6/7/10) Dave, Any reason you didn't mention WNAV in the AP awards post? I wasn't part of it, but I know staff members here at WNAV are proud of the award that they earned at this years event. Thanks. Karl Magenhofer, News Director, WNAV Radio (6/7/10) Dave's response: I'll add it to the blurb..... I wonder why they didn't make Tom Kieren, the morning meterologist at WRC, the chief meterolgist. Tom's been at WRC Channel 4 as long as Bob Ryan was. Also, a couple time recently I saw a new meteroligist on the weekend. I can't remember his name - might have been doug (6/7/10) Holy christ...the only thing worse than listening to Mark Levin doing his Burgess Meridith "Penguin" impersonation every night on WMAL, is listening to that drunken old sot Tom Marr from WCBM filling in for Levin. Talk about someone who needs to hang up the old headphones...what a 'taint flap. And now that Helen Thomas has "retired" the senior White House Press Corps member is another old 'taint flap Les Kinsolving, the conspiracy minded rambling coot who moves up to the front row in the WH Press Briefing Room. Time for a house cleaning. (6/7/10) Tuned into The Lavar Arrington Show, with no Lavar...note to Sam, just put Kevin and Rock on the afternoons, get a rating above 5 in your target demo, trust a pro... (6/7/10) Helen Thomas is a Bitch. I never liked her. Her comments confirmed to me that I was right in thinking she is a jackass. It's a shame she retired before she was fired. The Tooz (6/7/10) Dave Loudin mentions former transmitter sites for WOL and WYCB (which will always be "WOOK" to me...), but unfortunately doesn't mention where they were. Any info as to the locations? I know that back in the 1930's, WOL was at one point located near the old WRC site on Ager Road in Hyattsville.. I remember that atfer the end of the Eaton era, WOOK's BTA-1 was described to me as an "RCA/Calectro/Science Fair hybrid" with the stick fed by RG-8 proudly marked "Tandy Wire and Cable". -Unsigned Corporate Suit (6/7/10) "To the functionally illiterate gasbags, The Other Guys Show, on WEBR…perhaps you should learn how to spell definitely and maniacal before attacking Rusty Gibson." ** We, the editors of the Mailbag, deem this the post of the day. TOGS. (6/7/10) Hi, I have a question: I want to watch the soccer world cup on boradcast. I live in Towson MD (ZIP 21204) and thought Univision would be a good bet. But guess what, my supposedly great antenna can't find it. And I live on the 6th floor of a condo! Any thoughts? Thanks in advance, Thomas Jandl, Towson, MD (6/7/10) Dave's response: The digital signal of DC's Channel 14/WFDC would be a tough catch in the Baltimore metro, particularly in northern communities like Towson. I believe the actual digital signal is on UHF channel 15. Make sure your condo and antenna are south-facing. If not, cable might be your best bet..... Gee Nestor, I don't know what to tell you but Bob was the ONLY person I listened to on your station. I have a feeling those disputed Arbitron numbers will now be accurate. (6/7/10) Carolyn Presutti, TV Correspondent for Voice of America, and Scott Broom, Multimedia Reporter for WUSA9 have been named to the board of the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association. The CAPBA Board, comprised of radio and television professionals from the region, meets quarterly to discuss issues of significance to the AP and its members, to award scholarships, and to plan its annual convention/awards banquet in Ocean City, which was just held last weekend. Broom participated in the panel "What's in Your Backpack?" during the seminar’s keynote presentation. And, Presutti is no stranger to the convention, having won Associated Press broadcast awards for the past consecutive four years, including this year’s for her human interest story, "Dinosaurs! They're Real!" with Photojournalists Mike Burke and Adam Greenbaum. (6/7/10) Emmy Night wrap-up complete with pics, actually covered in DC instead of Pasadena, in the Examiner! www.examiner.com (6/7/10) It's a shame that NBC4 had to bring in an outsider as their chief meteorologist when Tom Kierien is so good. I guess he's too old for all the under 30 crowd. Hey folks. There ARE a lot of older people out there who do watch the news. I'm switching to WJLA from now on to see a face that I know. Disgusted (6/7/10) If you think the fans of WHFS freaked out when HFS went Latino imagine WPGC actually flipping to Country. I can foresee alot of Ford pickups being vandalized. Inner City bronco busters may want to leave the pointy toed's at home in favor of good running shoes. I can just hear the tags now..."Dub-uh-yuh PEEE GEEE CEEE.....cuz thayer jist ent anuf shitkickers in DEE CEEE" or " Nondee Fahhv pawnt Fahhv ....fertilazin' the heart of the UUU S uv AY" I think I'd prefer an ice pick in the ear. Donnie in Dubya Ekkksss SEEE WAHHH cuntry...damnit... (6/7/10) Was a little surprised that channel 4 brought in someone from Philly as the chief meterologist to replace Bob Ryan. Thought Veronica Johnson might have been given that promotion. She's been there about 10 yrs..Was wondering if she was considered at all. (6/7/10) National Public Radio was created as a membership organization. It was to produce programs for, and distribute them to, the member stations. The members stations, not the listeners, were NPR's customers. However, over the years "mission creep" has been allowed to set in and continue. Add to that broadcasting and organizational history know-nothings like Vivian Schiller and Del Lewis, two presidents who thought they could run NPR as a private concern not beholden to anyone. In the '90s, Del Lewis was trying to find a way to affiliate, if not outright sell, NPR to his friend Robert Johnson, owner of BET. Now, Schiller is the latest foot-in-mouth leader. All of these problems can be laid at the feet of the NPR Board members who hired these people. The member stations should be calling for heads to roll. (6/7/10) Coming Soon to DCRTV: The Don Geronimo 'I'm Moving to Sac Town' Countdown Clock. No seriously, there will be a countdown clock. Really. With graphics and everything. Dave makes money. We all have a laugh. Tick-tock Sorce. Ahh-classic (6/7/10) Chuck Thompson may not be in the Radio Hall of Fame, but who cares? He's in the Hall that really matters, the one in Cooperstown, NY. (6/7/10) Helen Thomas' retirement is around 25 years too late, but I'm glad she's going. Now she can retire to her gingerbread house where she can trap children, feed them cookies and cakes until they get nice and fat. (6/7/10) Nestor told Bob to take a more than 50 percent paycut. While Nestor pockets good money himself from his two tin cups and a piece of string operation, Bob wasn't exactly rolling in the dough. Since he's the best sports talker in Baltimore let's hope he doesn't sit on the sidelines any longer than he wants to. Nestor is such a tool. Only he could beat Peter Angelos in a contest to see who is most unlikeable. (6/7/10) So, we know that "AHHH" is really Paul Bicknell, and he has shown this creepy fixation on Don Geronimo, particularly as it relates to him moving to Sacramento. Is Paul looking to buy a place in OC and Don won't sell to him? Or will he not give Paul the union discount? You might have more money for a down payment if you weren't paying to be on the air, Paul. AHHHHmen. (6/7/10) "Regarding Len Shapiro's top 10 Washington sports broadcasters: Tony Roberts not only did Senators' baseball, but also Bullets basketball, Navy football, Notre Dame football (longer than anyone else in history), plus sportscasts for WWDC and Mutual/Westwood One, the latter including several Olympics. That's why he's nominated for the Radio Hall of Fame." I didn't say that Roberts shouldn't be on a top 10 sports radio list for DC - merely pointed out that since he only worked Senators' games for one season, he doesn't qualify as the signature baseball play-by-play voice that's missing from Shapiro's list. Last time I checked, Notre Dame was located in South Bend, Indiana - I know that Roberts did their games on Mutual Radio for years, but if national work by locally based sportscasters is going to be factored in, why didn't Channel 7's lead sports anchor Tim Brant (who's been part of ABC's college football coverage for years) make the TV top ten list? I now see that Shapiro limited consideration to the post-1970 period and Washington's only had major league baseball for seven full seasons over that time, but it's pure laziness on his part not to pay homage to the entire 70 plus years of sports on the radio (which comprises the pre-TV era when radio was more important) by taking the time to do some research on those who called Senators, Redskins or local college games during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. By the way, I checked out the complete list of inductees for the Radio Hall of Fame and unless I missed someone, it includes only two names (Larry King and Jim Bohannon) with Washington, DC ties. If Roberts get in, he'll be the first sports broadcaster from either DC or Baltimore to make it (for some reason, Chuck Thompson's not among the 11 baseball announcers honored thus far). (6/7/10) This past Sunday, I attended a fund-raiser for a woman, Jocelyn Aram, who is a resident of Laytonsville, MD, and a graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and is doing research to write a book about a legendary folk-music cafe there. The Caffe Lena is 50 years old and gave people like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez an early Adironack music forum. Well, at the fundraiser, not only did local composer Bill Danoff sing his songs "Country Roads" and "Afternoon Delight", but (and here is the Radio/TV connection), WTOP's own Frank Herzog was the emcee and auctioneer for the event, held at former Redskin Ray Schoenke's home on the road to Damascus (MD). The Mrs. and I talked with Mr. Herzog, and he was very gracious, mingled with everyone, was just a nice regular guy, wearing shorts and a Caffe Lean T-shirt, and now sports a nice goatee. I never realized before how tall he was. Apparently his true personality is just as great as it seems on TV and radio: a friendly decent guy, who helped out an aspiring author for a friend. Ray and Nancy Shoenke were very gracious hosts at this party. One more radio thing: a sponsor of the book and caffe is WAMC 88.3/1400 in Albany, a station begun at Albany Medical Center on New Scotland Avenue. My brother "Robert in Albany" lives there and it sure was interesting being in WAMU territory seeing logos for WAMC, which I listen to on the way to family gatherings. -- Carl in Olney (6/7/10) I love the whining about Strasburg's debut being on MASN2. Orioles vs. Yankees gets priority billing on MASN for a reason. The Nationals shouldn't re-arrange their debut for the kid because of TV but to whine about it not being on in HD is ridiculous. (6/7/10) (So I listened to the game today online ILLEGALLY. GO FIGURE. So SUE ME!...) Joe, Angelos couldn't care. It is an MLB issue. MLB will actually wind up suing WTHU for violating their contract. Actually, they probably wouldn't have even known, had you not opened your suck. I'm glad you enjoyed the game, while taking some time off at the group home. The Lawyers. (6/7/10) "perhaps you should learn how to spell definitely and maniacal before attacking Rusty Gibson." - Purchase spell check....got it. I'll add that to the suggestions list right after "smile more" and "talk to your audience". Thanks for the input! -TOGS (6/7/10) We are hearing from the PLEASE flip WPGC wishers again. One problem with that wish however the weak sounding urban format quote un quote that CBS is running on 95.5 is still making a lot of money from ad revenue. CBS Radio is not running the format on there because they love black people or black music trust me. It remains urban because it was the number 2 biller last year in the D.C. radio market as far as money. When it makes less money or no money CBS will flip it quick fast and in a hurry. All that the big heads in New York care about is cash flow not the 12 plus ratings that we always see. Also keep in mind that the 12 plus ratings are not a stations money demo that would be 18-34 and 25-54 those are your money moving demos and WPGC most likely does a lot better in those demos than it does in the 12 plus where it does not fair well. As far as CHR/top 40 goes if it was flipped to that the audience would be split and you would see a big drop with Hot 995 and the new WPGC would still be a 10th or 9th ranked station with the 12 plus numbers. The big winner in a WPGC flip would be Radio Ones WKYS if you take there numbers and the current WPGC numbers and combine them WKYS would get something like a 6.5/7.0 rating which would make them the number 2 or 3 ranked station in D.C. 12 plus. Just like Baltimore where WERQ sits by itself they would love to have the 9th ranked market all to themselves as far as the young urban format goes. Sit back it may happen the flip but as long as the ad rev stays high on the urban format it will stay urban. Also CHR/Ryhmitic is still very close to urban it plays a ton of hip-hop and r and b music with some top 40. (6/7/10) All Access dot-com is running an ad for instructors for the Miami branch of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. ??? Didn't the whole chain go down 2 years ago, and only the original Farmington CT campus was reopened? (6/7/10) NOTE TO Vivian Schiller: F--- you right up the -ss, sister! You have a lot to learn in how you regard your affiliates. They are the ones that pay your bills, bitch! You really think broadcast towers are gonna go away in ten years? Let me clue you in on some simple math. Online delivery just like print delivery is dependant on ONE THING! That's the willingness of the customer to continue to pay for the Broadband/DSL service.... PERIOD Paragraph. The one thing holding back online delivery of content is simple network congestion. When that happens the connection has to "retrain" itself and than re buffer so you can hear the program. Traditional radio (and TV) doesn't have that problem. The minute you make your programming unavailable to the masses (those that have no desire to pay for online service) your audience becomes fragmented. When that happens you won't collect as much in donations when it's time for you to "pass the hat". Ms. Schiller don't you EVER make the assumption that your broadcast affiliates are irrelivant you dumb-ss loser! (6/7/10) Hadeed VS Habib: mistake noted, relief considerable. The quality of AM radio is such these days that we are *almost* at a point where we need to SPELL OUT the name of an advertiser in order to be understood through lousy receivers and excessive QRM (man-made background noise). (6/7/10) More blogs are commenting on NPR President Vivian Schiller's comments that radio towers will go away in 10 years putting local public radio stations out of business. Her comments are stirring up quite a discussion among stations and they are not happy with what she said. They keep asking why NPR is spending more money on its website than on new radio programs and trying to put local stations out of business. www.thetop22.com (6/7/10) so the Strasburg debut will be on MASN2, that means no HD for many...we get the 16 win Orioles instead of Strasburg Tuesday night. I hate Peter Angelos! If MASN 2 were highly available in HD, I would not care, but it's not there yet. If it is, please correct me as I would not want to hate peter Angelos anymore than I already do. (6/7/10) Dave's response: It's not really Angelos' fault. MASN2 is in HD on most area cable systems, including Comcast (channel 844) and Cox. Blame Verizon's Fios..... Regarding the previous post which said, "Surprising name on the Bankrupcties page (A13) in the Post this morning: Habib Carpet and Rugs. I sure hope WMAL and WTOP got their cash up front before running those spots." The radio advertiser I think that this post is refering to is Hadeed (located in Alexandria) not Habib (located in Lake Ridge, VA). Since Hadeed has been in business for about 50 years I don't think the stations have anything to worry about. (6/7/10) Dave's response: I think that WMAL will be OK as long as Catholic Cemeteries, one of its biggest advertisers, is in business..... A couple of AM memories have crossed paths. When WOL lost its original transmitter site, Radio One tried a couple of ideas until settling on a site in far northeast DC. They had to limit power to 370 watts in order to match their old contour towards the north and northeast. Radio One then diplexed WYCB on the same tower, moving that station from just east of DC. The allocation situation allowed them to maintain 1 kW. In both cases, there's less signal towards the southwest, so coverage towards Belvoir is reduced. Regards, Dave Loudin (6/7/10) I've been liking the "Grandy Group" even without Rue McLanaghan, but like with the previous version, the phone screener needs to be trained up. The screening process should not take longer than the actual call that gets aired. It's not an interview or an audition. I can do a good call and I can tell you how long it's going to last; just take the information and put me on hold. Don't ask me "Would you like to motorboat Helen Thomas?" I've been doing this longer than you've been breathing. - ZombieWoof (6/7/10) Dave's response: Just keep Mrs. Grandy off. Andy Parks in drag would make a sexier chick. Sheesh..... To the functionally illiterate gasbags, The Other Guys Show, on WEBR…perhaps you should learn how to spell definitely and maniacal before attacking Rusty Gibson. (6/7/10) Dave: Mike/Fairfax made some good points regarding Len Shapiro's all-time local sportscaster list. However, let's not forget there's a reason why Len's material doesn't appear in the "real deal" anymore. Frankly, I really don't pay attention to what he says. Second, 980's numbers must be next to nothing to allow Czaban to have his own golf show. So let me get this straight, he does a one-hour golf show with friends who own or operate high-end golf courses..then during the week, he'll talk about his play on those course, hmmm??? I hope 980 gets a good dime for these endorsements etc..because Snyder's all about making money rather than allowing free-bees. Let Phil do his long running show and concede the rest of the day to ESPN programming or make the switch to WJFK. (6/7/10) Anyone interested in the whereabouts of Miki Hunter (real name Michelle Olin) formerly of WZBH on the Eastern Shore just out this link...she's writing a blog from what looks like Seattle...it appears as though she's now making websites. michelleolin.blogspot.com (6/7/10) RANT... My whole point Andrew in Sterling was that MLB streaming RADIO broadcasts should be FREE, and I think the same should apply to the NFL. I agree they should charge for live video because it requires some infrastructure that costs money. I guess you missed that part. Instead MLB insists on charging for what is FREE OVER THE AIR RADIO and virtually worthless to sell that is really paid for by the local radio network stations, NOT MLB! Thank god many Orioles radio network partners are asleep at the switch on a Sunday. Otherwise I'd have not heard yesterday's O's/Red Sox game! I bet MLB doesn't make a single dime off of charging for radio broadcasts online, but idiots like Bud Selig think they can because they are fossils and have no clue on technology. Anyway, thank you WTHU AM 1450, Thurmont, MD for accidently giving me yesterday's O's/Sox game while I was working. Otherwise, I'd have had to pay those 2 ancient fossils Angelos and Selig for something that should be FREE. If you think The Washington Post or The Baltimore Sun should charge for their websites, guess what? That business model has officially failed. No one will EVER pay for the live radio broadcast of a fucking baseball game, let alone the worst team in MLB, The ORIOLES! Come up with an internet Google, Apple, or Microsoft sponsored ad campaign and get back to me. What IDIOTS! Until then I'll look for lazy radio stations with everyone asleep at the switch to get my MLB games streamed LIVE at work FOR FREE! And guess what, that ain't too hard to find since all the radio stations are in financial trouble and there's nobody there half the time, so go F yourself MLB, Mr. Selig & Mr. Angelos. So I listened to the game today online ILLEGALLY. GO FIGURE. So SUE ME!... -- Joe in Essex (6/7/10) Surprising name on the Bankrupcties page (A13) in the Post this morning: Habib Carpet and Rugs. I sure hope WMAL and WTOP got their cash up front before running those spots. (6/7/10) WPGC...Where People Get Country (6/7/10) We too will be broadcasting live from "Celebrate Fairfax". We go live at 9pm on Friday night (right after Rusty Gibson's show). So Rusty, we definatly will stop by and say hi! -cue the maniacle laugh- -The Other Guys Show -WEBR (6/7/10) Himan Brown, Developer of Radio Dramas www.nytimes.com (6/7/10) /\ June 7 Messages /\ \/ June 6 Messages \/ "..To this day I don't see why CBS doesn't flip WPGC back to Top 40..." Two problems with that..Fresh and MIX 106.5 !! A top 40 WPGC ( mainstream or rhythmic ) either way would do at least some damage to the ratings of those other two CBS stations. Also even in the event if CBS would change 95.5 to CHR, who is to say that the calls letters would even remain WPGC? Yes WPGC does have a large colorful history of doing top 40 but face it, the memories of Harv Moore, Elliot & Woodside, Bill Prettyman, Don G., "Sound OFF", etc...they really do mean nothing to the average 25 year old. They really don't care. Actually a good format for WPGC if CBS would deside to change formats would actually be country. Yes "Country 95.5 WPGC" !! Yeah it may sound odd at first but if Norfolk's WGH, a station whose Top 40 history is even longer than PGC's, well if WGH can do it succesfully, so can WPGC !! Besides giving WMZQ and Clear Channel some much need competiton, a country formated PGC really wouldn't affect the ratings of the other CBS stations in either DC or Baltimore as well, not too mention WPGC can bring back some of their former jocks and perhaps even a return of Sound-Off too. (6/6/10) "The New WEAM - with thousand dollar cash calls constantly..." (6/6/10) Hey buddy, the MLB has been streaming video on line since 2002 on MLB.tv, longer than any other US sports league has been. There is also an iPhone App which allows streaming stats, audio, and video right to your phone. Get your facts straight before you make terrible jokes next time. Andrew, Sterling (6/6/10) Thanks to the curious "Mailbagger" asking of my whereabouts. I'm alive and well (so I'm told). The Post noted that WEBR is participating in the annual "CelebrateFairfax" . As a matter of fact, I'll be doing my show from there live on Friday @8:00pm (instead of my normal 5:00pm slot). All are invited to tune in. Or better yet if you're there, stop by and say hello. Rusty Gibson, WEBR RadioFairfax (6/6/10) Dave, have you considered hosting a happy hour at a local watering hole? It might be fun for all us radio freeks to get together and rant! (6/6/10) Congrats to Rush Limbaugh and the future-ex-Mrs. Rush Limbaugh on their weekend nuptials. Interesting fact: Did you know that Rush was turning the ripe old age of 45 when the current Mrs. Limbaugh was just attaining the age of legal consent? Makes me wonder...could the future "Mrs. L" v5.0 be currently soaking in the womb as we speak? Well, look at the bright side...at least for the immediate future, Rush won't have to hump illegal prescription medications all the way to Costa Rica just to get the old doorknob polished. Sir Elton John reportedly entertained the wedding crowd for a fee of one million dollars. How great would it be if Sir Elton calls a press conference tomorrow morning to announce a one million dollar gift in the name of Rush Limbaugh to GLAAD. I tell 'ya, Rush-bo must really believe in the sanctity of marriage to have gone through the matrimonial vows a total of four times now! The guest list was a virtual who's-who of marital sanctity proponents with Newt G. (3X-once to his teacher, one divorce while wife was prepping for cancer surgury) Rudy G. (3X- once to his cousin) Fred T. (3X) and Karl R. (2X+recently divorced). Hey Dave, mind if we start an informal betting pool in the mailbag? I think this one is gonna be over before Labor Day. (6/6/10) Thank you unnamed radio station that is streaming the Orioles/Red Sox game today illegally. I'd post which one from the Orioles Radio Network but I don't wanna ruin a good thing. If MLB were smart, they'd stream radio for free and start charging for streaming video, but Bud Selig probably doesn't even know what an iPhone is, let alone what streaming is. He probably shouldn't even have keys to a car and should stick to the jello from his nurse! (6/6/10) Here's hoping that, before Elton took his million from Rush, he sang "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" to the happy couple. Now there's a wedding song! (6/6/10) www.delmarvanow.com: Denver-based satellite television provider Dish Network has announced that it now brings local TV channels to subscribers, and that representatives would be in Salisbury later this week to celebrate the expansion that delivers network affiliates WBOC-16, Fox 21 and WMDT-47 to satellite customers. But local network affiliates say that's not true, at least not yet. Local TV stations have been in negotiations to add their channels to the DISH lineup of customer offerings, but as of Friday had signed no agreement. The confusion raises the question of whether they will by Saturday, when the satellite provider is scheduled to host a celebration at the Centre at Salisbury mall to kick off its marriage with local TV stations. (6/6/10) Regarding Al's "former Military" observation, Al brought up another problem, at least for Hannity; Hannity never served in the armed forces, therefore, he doesn't know the nuances when he writes theses callers' scripts. Most calls to Hannity, I am not sure about Rush, are scripted and preplanned. Case in point; last week, a women from Phoenix called in and ranted about how the "librals" didn't know the Arizona law. After her talking points were done, Hannity said in a "sotto voce" sort of way, "say hi to Kevin." Also, Hannity had on a public school teacher who talked about how her "Black students" were becoming disenthralled with Obama. Public school teachers DON'T categorize their students by race. Rule of thumb; If Hannity says he is going to send them a free copy of his book, tickets to the scandalous Freedom Concert, or flowers from Proflowers, the call was scripted. (6/6/10) I haven't heard Rusty Gibson's show on WEBR recently. I hope that he's been o.k.. I would presume that if something was wrong we would have heard about it here in the Mailbag. With the compliments that Paul Bicknell has lauded on Rusty over time, I would think we would have heard something from him (i.e.: Send your prayers, get well soon, etc.). I've heard that WEBR will be at Celebrate Fairfax next weekend. Here's hoping I get to run into Rusty there. (6/6/10) Dave's response: Rusty's had a few personal issues to deal with lately. I'm sure he'll be back on WEBR real soon..... RE:WOOK-1340. Since I was the one that posted about WOOK's signal strength in Fort Belvoir than I feel compelled to answer your post. Correct me if I'm wrong 1340 is considered a "grave yard" or Local service channel with a power limitation of no more than a thousand watts. Back in those days a lot of stations on that frequency would drop to 250 watts at night. In the early '80's the FCC dropped the power drop requirement at night. I seriously doubt if WOOK was never more than a thousand watts. At one point in recent years radio-locator showed their tower location as being just east of DC over in PG county. Back in the days when I lived in Fort Belvoir ('58-61), I noticed WOOK-1340 had a great signal in the district but the further south we drove I could tell a signal difference once we reached Fort Belvoir. These days I can't help but think 1340's transmitter might be a little "soft". (6/6/10) I have really enjoyed reading some of the posts about AM radio. I grew up listening to mostly WCAO, but would moan and groan when my father would listen to Al Ross in the car (WRC). I really think the reason I was so anxious to get an FM radio, about 1965, so I could listen to WPGC after they signed off on AM at sunset. I could make the switch and hear them clearly all of the time as 1580's signal in Easton was not very good. Later on, I began to listen to other stations, though I was frustrated I could not get WEAM around Easton, especially when Johnny Dark worked for them. Later on, of course, the numbers of stations I would listen to would grow as the FM dial expanded. Today, I do not listen to radio nearly as much in the car, opting to use my MP3 player for music or to listen to downloaded pod casts. But because of being online because of graduate school courses, I often listen online to music, news or sports talk. WNST has really become my favorite sports talker for this area, though sometimes I listen to WTEM or 106.7 the fan on occasion. I will continue to follow DCRTV even after I move from this area in late July. Burt in Denton (6/6/10) Actor Don Cheadle who portrayed Washington radio & TV personality "Petey" Greene in the movie "Talk to Me" is now the U.N.'s Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment. See www.wtopnews.com -Unisgned Corporate Suit (6/6/10) Interesting that a web site named "Hot Air" would be putting out information about a potential Rush Limbaugh biopic. If "Hot Air" ends up being the (entirely appropriate) title of the film, do they at least get royalties? (6/6/10) (regarding a previous post) "When I visited the fort last march I tuned in 1340 on a Sangean 909 receiver and it still had reception issues. In fact it was worse now than when I received it back in the day on our old Heathkit tuner." My memory may be a little fuzzy here, but didn't 1340 have to dramatically reduce power in recent years, owing to a relocation of the tower or having to use an Auxiliary tower? (6/6/10) I think the DCRTV MAILBAG should be run like a typical topic based forum. So for instance, if you saw the topic "BICKNELL" or something BALTIMORE related you're not interested in or even drivel I post, you could just choose NOT to read those posts or that entire thread of posts. Under that format, there would be no general posts and those who like to argue incessantly would be confined to a tiny box that would suit them more purposefully. Just a suggestion Dave Hughes. I know I've said it before, just another nudge. I think it's food for thought. I think it would be a bigger upgrade to the website and in its popularity than you might imagine. -- Joe in Essex (6/6/10) " I just hate to see a once dominant station like that just sit there a slowly waste away.." Sad to say that the same thing could be said about so many local broadcasters, not just WPGC. For some, it has been slow. For others, its been at a pace which makes warp speed look like "furlongs per fortnight" by comparison. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (6/6/10) So, last night, I am pissed that I could not get the MOS download at my WV river cabin with shitty dial up at 9:00 PM. BUT, when I listened on my way back on I-66 today it was my fastest trip ever. To hear Buzz tell Rob “F-U” while talking about cartoon porn almost made me hit Chapman’s Mill. Best $ 50 I ever spent. And, I was a Howard Fan with not SAT prices. OOBBEE (6/6/10) Mike in Fairfax: Regarding Len Shapiro's top 10 Washington sports broadcasters: Tony Roberts not only did Senators' baseball, but also Bullets basketball, Navy football, Notre Dame football (longer than anyone else in history), plus sportscasts for WWDC and Mutual/Westwood One, the latter including several Olympics. That's why he's nominated for the Radio Hall of Fame. (6/6/10) /\ June 6 Messages /\ \/ June 5 Messages \/ RE: WEAM first station I ever listened to. Okay let me chime in on this post. The first station I remember vividly listening to (and searching for on the radio) was WPGC-1580. My mother was a big fan of WEAM (back than it was known as "the new WEAM station" and that is what she always called it). In the first grade after my father put togethor a Heathkit AM/FM tuner he always listened to Felix Grant on WMAL-FM. Back in those days with all the urban stations being on AM the only one out of DC that had any impact on the Black residents of Fort Belvoir that I can remember was the old WOOK-1340. Most people received that station fairly well in cars on the post but the minute you got home and tuned them in on a clock radio or such it had some noisy reception issues. For the WOOK listener at home WPGC became the defacto second choice. When I visited the fort last march I tuned in 1340 on a Sangean 909 receiver and it still had reception issues. In fact it was worse now than when I received it back in the day on our old Heathkit tuner. To this day I don't see why CBS doesn't flip WPGC back to Top 40. It is slowly limping along doing a weak sounding urban format. If they made it a rhythmic CHR and had some geniune mainstream sounding CHR jocks on it could make an impact on that market. I just hate to see a once dominant station like that just sit there a slowly waste away. Former (Fort Belvoir) Cheney School student (6/5/10) Great shot of your mug on Facebook" Dave. btw, what instrument did you play while a member of ZZTop? Rusty (6/5/10) Dave's response: The machine gun..... I'm pretty sure that WEAM is the first radio station I ever heard, upon becoming aware of radio. For some reason, two songs come to mind, as the ones that were playing then - "Purple People Eater" and "Wake Up Little Suzy". "Suzy" was big on the charts in Oct/Nov 1957 and "Purple" hit in June 1958, so I would've been three going on four, at the time. In the mid-60s, I mostly listened to WEAM and WPGC. After discovering The Joy Boys in '67 or so, I switched to WRC and followed them to WWDC in '72 (discovering Holliday, Knight, Hemby and Fiske in the process). I also listened to WRC when it was the Rock of the Capital and later, in the NIS and News/Talk era. My WMAL listening was mostly middays with Gauger, afternoons with Two for the Road and Felix Grant in the evening. Harden & Weaver never impressed me, though I did like Paul Harvey's little spot in the morning. I left DC in 1982, which was probably for the best, since all of those stations would begin a steady decline not too long afterwards. (6/5/10) LEVIN OFF...last night Hannity in FL at West Palm affiliate WJNO radio but off TV last night WERE THEY AT RUSH'S BIG FAT WEDDING??? (6/5/10) On the subject of WaPo errors. In Friday's edition they spelled National wrong in the Style section on C4. Funny thing it was in a blurb about the National Spelling Bee. Who proofs for them? DCPS fifth graders? (6/5/10) Dave's response: And then we got this..... The mailbag is so good I read it before the front and missed your story about the spelling bee error before I sent my email bringing it to your attention. Silly me, I should have known you would not have missed it. (6/5/10) Dear Dave: To Mike in Fairfax: these lists of the top 10 are just opinions, but I do agree with some of your observations. I don't understand Shapiro including the Junkies, Kornheiser, and especially Doc Walker to the exclusion of Phil Wood, Al Koken, and Rich Chvotkin, each of whom have been part of the area broadcasting landscape for years and who have just tried to do the best job they can do, and I think you have to give serious consideration to Charley Slowes for his prevous work with the Washington Bullets/Wizards and his current work with the Nationals. They each have solid credentials. Not surprising in Shapiro's piece was a slight dig at Ken Beatrice for his Bernie Streeter's Arby's commercials, something that Shapiro used to complain about endlessly (lord knows why) when Ken was still on the air. As for a signature Washington baseball voice, there are two: Arch McDonald and Bob Wolff, both of whom used to do the play-by-play of Washington Senator games, and both of whom are recipients of the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. Among other winners of that award are some of the legendary names you mention, including Jon Miller, who will receive his during the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies later this summer. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (6/5/10) RE: RUSH, THE MOVIE: Okay...Who gets to play Rush? Unfortunately, Chris Farley and John Candy are dead, so will it be Jack Black or Kevin James? My vote is Jack Black...his scene playing "Jeff Portnoy" in "Tropic Thunder" where he was sweating profusely and tied naked to a tree while hallucinating and babbling an incoherent rant in the throes of a cold-turkey detox was the quintessential spot-on "Limbaugh-on-the-Golden-EIB-Microphone" impersonation if there ever was one! - Jeff in (Think you're the only one who gets uptight when he doesn't get his jellybeans?) Bowie (6/5/10) Dave's response: I think that Philip Seymour Hoffman would be a perfect choice to play Limbaugh. He's kind of chunky and is great at playing smarmy characters, like that pedo priest in "Doubt"..... DCRTV Dave this is one dispenser of shit who appreciates you posting my shit. Now as for this AAHHHH character who's stolen my stream of consciousness bit now cut that shit out. Hey Donnie G. is a hypocritical moron currently on a self promotional high but he's an entertaining hypocritical moron as oppose to most radio suits who are full of shit. (6/5/10) If interested we have a better pic of Phil on the homepage of www.98wrc.com (6/5/10) About three to four months ago, Emily Gracey was also doing some fill-in at Fox43 in York. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (6/5/10) The WEAM Team was THE Washington station to listen to as a kid growing up in 1960s Bowie. To this day, I mentally associate certain 1960s music (and childhood crushes on certain girls) to WEAM. The station had a decent signal into Bowie. Richard Dahms (6/5/10) Dave's response: WEAM was a wonderful station, but at night you couldn't hear it west of Tysons Corner. In fact, when they switched to their night pattern at sunset, the DJ would often say "Goodnight Rockville" just before pulling the switch. However, 1390's night pattern pumped the Arlington signal just fine to the east. I remember being at my grandparents' house near Atlantic City and hearing WEAM at night loud and clear..... Hi, Dave! Just an FYI : Emily Gracey started on WBFF tonight... (6/5/10) Hold onto your hats. The Post got something wrong. Phil Gaines' all-night show at WWDC was the "One to Six Show". (The "Music 'Til Dawn" title belonged to the folks at WTOP.) When Phil first moved to WRC, his first assignment was that same overnight shift on their radio side. Gaines was the next-to-last full time staff announcer at WRC leaving only Mac McGarry in that role when he was shown the door in 1979. (6/5/10) Dave's response: OMG, the Post got something wrong! Will they ever do a correction for it? Hmmm..... Emily Gracey, who recently did a short fill-in weather stint at WUSA, was seen doing WBFF Fox45's weather Friday night. She did some on-air weather for WMAR Balto for a couple years until about the first of 2010. (6/5/10) Dave, When I wrote the other day I forgot one word. I was saying that the pictures of you should be replaced because they must be 20 years old. Steve (6/5/10) Dave's response: Is that me? The real me is on my Facebook page. Or maybe not..... "Hey, if I can deflate a few pompous media gasbags, I'll consider my mission accomplished....." --So what do you consider it when you allow a has-been local DJ to spew his hate and personal agenda on your very site? I think that makes you an enabler. (6/5/10) /\ June 5 Messages /\ \/ June 4 Messages \/ Seeing the 1390 WEAM broadside sparked a memory of a special drop the station used to run once every afternoon when I was a kid. I recall that it went "1390 W E A M....We don't run down at sundown!" - a kick at daytimer 'PGC as it was signing off. You can see that "24 Hour!" emphasis on the illustration that underscores the rivalry between the two stations. (6/4/10) Many in public radio are upset about the NPR President's comments about online listening killing off NPR member stations. radiosutton.blogspot.com (6/4/10) Yes Trent Robinson is my alias. Dave Hughes knows my real name, have already revealed it to him in previous postings. Lots of us at VOA read DCRTV, no one wants their real monikers alongside opinions. The balcony is closed!!!!!!!!!! Dave, I will drop some $ in your paypal to support this open dialogue. (6/4/10) Former Fox Business Network commentator Alexis Glick will be filling-in on WABC Radio, 10-Noon tomorrow and all next week. This apparently will not affect the revamp and expansion of the Joe Scarborough radio show there, which is currently on hiiatus. (6/4/10) Just checked the staff phone directory here at VOA. There's no listing for a Trent Robinson. Either an impostor or a part-time contractor struggling to grab some street cred by dropping the VOA moniker. (6/4/10) "Perhaps you are right, its more enjoyable to see the inmates running the ward!" --Which is exactly why this site will never be anything more than a second rate, gossip site. It's reasons like that that no one takes DCRTV seriously. (6/4/10) Dave's response: You mean DCRTV ain't a first-rate media asskissing site like FishbowlDC? Ha ha ha. Hey, if I can deflate a few pompous media gasbags, I'll consider my mission accomplished..... Just catching up on recent posts. As an oldies freak, I am compelled to point out there were TWO hit songs that began with the words, "It was the Third of June." As indicated, one was "Ode to Billie Joe." The other was "Desiree" by Neil Diamond. I realize the only other person who cares is Ken Merson. And he didn't post because he must have gone a few blocks from his house to "the Carroll County picture show." (6/4/10) Hey does anyone remember when Don & Mike went on the air and Philly and Don said he was a huge eagles fan. I just had to laugh when he talked about being a huge Kings fan and didn't like the Wizards. What a freaking bull shitter! Couldn't he have just waited till OCT and come on a DC station. How quickly he will turn his back on the town that made him rich and famous, well more rich. Remember the love fest with NY. How did that work out for him (6/4/10) Dave, Thanks, on the Dave Statter piece. You broke that today, you know, and it’s all yours today. Of course, no one else had it, reported it, or was on top of it. Dave Statter deserves it—again, he’s literally one of the best reporters, of any medium, in the D.C. area. It’s a shame that more TV types, and print types, can’t be like Statter. (6/4/10) WUSA Traffic Woman - If you haven't already did it you might want to Google "Patranya Bhoolsuwan". Might be an interesting article for you. She has won 2 Emmys and is a diplomats daughter. (6/4/10) "Perhaps you are right, its more enjoyable to see the inmates running the ward!" Trent Robinson, VOA Just the opposite pal. It's not the bright, enlightened, articulate and engaging mail baggers who are the inmates here. It's the dj's calling for censorship today that have the rap sheets, have paid large & multiple attorney fees, and know the inside of courtrooms [ ie, drugs, dui's, costly divorces...] But then again, as the official broadcaster of the feds and with my own extensive past and current military knowledge, disseminating false information is part of your VOA job. AHH-RIGHTY-NOW (6/4/10) I was saddened to learn of the sudden death a couple weeks ago of Ken Dichter of Metro Networks. Ken was a programmer and technician, but is probably best known as the father of Metro Source, Metro’s news and sports wire service. Ken and I spent quite a bit of time over the years working on various projects and tweaking our Metro Source system here at WTOP. He was a bright guy, patient, always helpful, and loved a good laugh. Condolences to his family, friends and co-workers in Phoenix. So sorry to hear he has left us. www.facebook.com... –Brian Oliger, WTOP (6/4/10) Mr Hughes, I thank you for the open discourse today about the Mailbag. Perhaps you are right, its more enjoyable to see the inmates running the ward! My only concern was with the Mailbag feature and I thank you for printing my thoughts. Says a lot about you. Two real radio questioons: When will someone challenge WTOP? and What are your thoughts on the programming at WPGC and other urban outlets? Cheers- Trent Robinson, VOA (6/4/10) One thing I always get a chuckle out of is when someone calls Rush or Sean and identifies themselves as "former military." I spent 23 years in the U.S. Navy; I have been retired for 15 years. I have never personally met anyone who refers to themselves as "former military." We are proud of the branch of service we were associated with, and you will hear, "retired Navy, former Army, ex-Air Force, etc." (Marines are always Marines.) So, when I hear the phrase "fomer military," I have to wonder about the credibility of the caller. On another topic, a caller to Thursday's Mark Levin show said the liberal media is blowing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill out of proportion to embarass corporate America. Honest - you can't make this stuff up. Oh yeah, Rush, Sean and Mark are heard on News-Talk 1400 WINC in Winchester. Al McGilvray (6/4/10) So with all the talk about Geronimo's new gig, couple of questions that need to be asked. How long before Robb Spewak has his lips surgically re-attached to Don's ass and bails on Mike? How long before Don tires of dealing with the idiots on the telephones, and has to come up with actual content that doesn't involve running a marginally amusing sound clip into the ground? How long before the dullards in the Scaramento area figure out that Don is full of crap (The Kings are his favorite NBA team???? He's moving out there??Please...) How long before he turns back into the tyrannical jack-ass that he truly is and makes his support staff hate him? How long before the management of KHTK figures out that they've made a monumental mistake by hiring Mr. Morale-cancer? If nothing else, it should be fun to watch. (6/4/10) With a sig like "NYC Suit," are you trying to imply that you are radio executive based in New York? If you are, and choose to spend your time listening to and critiquing one station in D.C., and then posting in a listener mailbag... know wonder the radio industry is in such a state. And what "good" ratings are you looking at for Mike Wise? For the most part (probably EVERY month, actually), they have been mediocre and not keeping pace with the Junkies and Lavar and Dukes. (6/4/10) I would like to apologize for what I said today with regard to putting Brian Mitchell on the regular line up for 106.7 The Fan. After streaming him and Scott Jackson today, I realize now that the 10 -2 spot will remain the way it is. Bad. I am a fan of "The Fan", but there are truly only a few radio personalities who can carry a show on the station. Chad Dukes, The Junkies & the station rookies Kevin & Rock. Not to say Holden Kushner and Bill Rohland don't have Radio Talent, the aforementioned are the only TRUE talents the station has. Save yourselves money on Lavar and give Chad someone else to banter with. If Mr. Kinard doesn't adjust accordingly, Sam Rogers & Dan Mason need to. - NYC Suit (6/4/10) A gaggle of one or more dj's, DCRTV readers and Dave Hughes gathered today to help shape the future of DCRTV— to decide, in effect, whether it's time for revolutionary change and enact censorship in the mailbag, or whether the status quo should prevail. Status quo won by a knockout. (6/4/10) Today marks the end of Dave Statter's remarkable 25-year career at Channel 9. He is a reporter's reporter. Fair. Ethical. Dedicated to truth, process and product. Here's to a great run, honey -- and the start of another. Cheers! (6/4/10) Obama-Comcast-NBC Rant: 1) You're worried about pink slips? Layoffs would occur only because there is less demand for all of those employees' services. Those employees will go on to work for more successful enterprises. Should we have prevented refrigeration and grocery store mergers that put milkmen out of a job? 2) There is plenty of competition in the TV industry. Fiber, satellite, and now internet. The amount of content available on the net is exploding. NBComcast will have to stay competitive to stay in business. Any lack of direct cable competition is due solely to local governments' anti-consumer franchise agreements with cable providers. -Tony (6/4/10) re: (But Dave, why do you print such shit in your mailbag?) If Dave began editing who was allowed to post and who was not; would he not be accused of censorship which would then go against the point of a "mailbag". I can only assume that people who post MB messages, are in the industry and should have thicker skin. As is the option in radio & television the consumer can simply change the channel if they are displeased with the content. Here I would suspect you can simply ignore what you don't like or not come to the site. As much as people complain about Mike Wise he still gets good ratings. Why; because people still listen. If you don't like him on the air stop listening to see how bad he is day after day. Again I would assume the same goes for dcrtv. - NYC Suit (6/4/10) "Obviously this site is run by Mr. Hughes. But Dave, why do you print such shit in your mailbag?" --No comment, Dave?? (6/4/10) Dave's response: I print your shit, so why shouldn't I print everyone's? It's funny how so many blowhard radio yakkers can't take it when the tables are turned and the listeners get a chance to return the "favor" via venues like the DCRTV Mailbag. Ha ha ha. Communication is a two-way street, buddy, and sites like DCRTV will keep it that way..... "Topping [Len Shapiro's list of top 10 radio sports broadcasters in DC] is Johnny Holliday... More: 2) Sonny, Sam, Frank, 3) Tony Kornheiser, 4) Ken Beatrice, 5) Ron Weber, 6) Tony Roberts, 7) Warner Wolf, 8) Andy Polin and Steve Czaban, 9) Doc Walker. And, big surprise, his 10th pick is the Junkies ... with which he often feuds." I'm not sure Walker belongs on that list - seems like whenever he's hosting a show by himself, far too much time is wasted on juvenile trash talking between him and Dallas Cowboys fans in the listening audience. Shapiro cited Tony Kornheiser's regular interviews with legal, political and entertainment reporters, but I don't regard those as points in his favor because the format's called sports talk radio and listeners are poorly served when a host puts his own interests ahead of theirs. While one could hardly argue with the legendary status of Sonny, Sam and Frank as the Redskins' announcing trio for about 25 years, it should be noted that Herzog was also the radio voice of the Bullets during their glory years in the late 1970s (including the championship season of 1977-78). There are some broadcasters not on the list who definitely deserved consideration, notably Rich Chvotkin who's been doing the Georgetown basketball games for more than three decades (never working with a color analyst as far as I know) - his signature "Hoyas win! Hoyas win! Hoyas win! ... " call is part of the Washington sports vernacular. Phil Wood's been hosting sports talk radio on various DC and Baltimore stations since the late 1970s and now does the Nationals postgame call-in show on WFED - if there's a go-to guy in this region for baseball information (past or present), he's the one. Al Koken should have made either the TV or radio list if not both - I think he's been associated with Capitals hockey telecasts for as long as that franchise has existed, while his radio resume includes a stint at WTOP back in the 80s as well as working at WTEM for more than 15 years before being abruptly let go by Dan Snyder's management team about a year ago (why WJFK hasn't hired him for a permanent gig is beyond me). Also missing is a signature baseball voice along the lines of Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray in Chicago, Jack Buck in St. Louis, Marty Brenneman in Cincinnati, Vin Scully in LA, Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn in Philly, Ernie Harwell in Detroit, Mel Allen and Red Barber in New York or Chuck Thompson and Jon Miller in Baltimore. While Tony Roberts is number six on Shapiro's radio list, he was only in the Senators' broadcast booth for one season (which happened to be their final one in Washington). If there was an announcer prior to that who did the games for a number of years and was singularly identified as the 'voice of the Senators', Shapiro should have uncovered that fact and shown a bit more respect for local baseball fans when compiling his list. Mike, Fairfax (6/4/10) (RE DCRTV Plus:) Can you please provide some history on Baltimore area radio (50s, 60s and 70s period) to include WEBB, formerly owned by James Brown? And can you include more history on the following Baltimore area stations: WCAO, WITH, WSID, WWIN? Thank you. (6/4/10) Could some kind soul ID the pj partyers in the pic posted yest from WTOP? Also regarding the Mike Wise post below, if Kevin Sheehan put 5 bucks in a jar for each time he stammers, he'd be out thousands per show. Regards Biff (6/4/10) I successfully stomached the first ten minutes of Fred & Mrs. Grandy on 'MAL during the 8:00 hour. It sounded like an eerie reminder of the old "Jim & Tammy Faye"shows on PTL. He rants, she nods her bobble head in rapt adoration. It was horrible. Beyond horrible. WMAL, I appeal to you on a humanitarian basis...please, please do not let this train wreck continue. Kill it. Kill it and sprinkle lye on the spot where the idea was born so nothing evil will ever grow from there again. (6/4/10) Dave's response: Just listening to the Grandys, you can sure tell who wears the pants in that relationship. And it ain't Fred..... Sarah Walsh. My son is a PA at ESPN in Bristol and worked her first show, said she did a great job! (6/4/10) Dave, as the days of June count down I think I speak for many who anxiously await what changes at 106.7 The Fan will take place. Chad Dukes announced he in fact signed a two year contract & it is known Wise also renewed. This leaves intact three of the four shows right now. I feel sorry that Chad has to carry the Lavar show for another year, as he at times is very painful to hear with his delayed thoughts or commentary. With football season soon approaching he will be back in his wheel house but how long can this continue? Holden I assume will be asked to carry the weight of Wise and his continued inexperience after a year. Will Bill Rohland & his partner be allowed to continue their baseball card segments? Although I believe Rohland to be a Radio talent, CBS can not think that is viable for continued programming. Why not split Wise/Holden in the 10-12 slot and throw Brian Mitchell and Bill Rohland in the 12 to 2 slot? Perhaps Mitchell will move to the evenings but with all the play by play The Fan has taken on, it isn't as if they need someone signed to a contract during that slot either. - NYC Suit. (6/4/10) CNN Radio's correspondents were stunned this week when their Atlanta managers sent them each a copy of "Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production." "What's the message here?" asked one. "That we don't know what we're doing -- or that they don't?" The irony is that well-respected former ABC Radio news director (and former CNN Radio VP) Robert Garcia recently joined NPR as Executive Newscast Producer.... (6/4/10) Obviously this site is run by Mr. Hughes. But Dave, why do you print such shit in your mailbag? Who gives a shit where Don Geronimo chooses to live? It has become painfully obvious that even though he does not work in the DC market for over 2 years that Mr Hughes selects the posts that continue make some fella get his jollies. Why does this person not just Twitter Don G directly? Oh I know. That takes Dave's ax to grind out of the equation. Credibility. dcrtv wonders why no one - WaPost!- seems to take his site seriously. This is why. Can't you keep the topics to real radio, not personal vendettas? At least be honest with people. Or is this the only type of content you can garner on the mailbag? Thank you for the discussion. (6/4/10) Re: Rant - Dave - I gotta tell you that I agree with your rant 100%! Since the debacle called the 1996 Telecom reform act was passed. More and more media is being placed in fewer and fewer hands - incredibly rich and powerful hands. I can't see how a huge cable TV conglomerate merging with a legendary TV network isn't a huge conflict of interest and not really benefit citizens, but again the rich and powerful. I always looked at TV networks and cable/satellite providers relationship as that of vendor and customer. Moves like this sicken me and that our current administration of "change" isn't doing a damn thing to "change" business as usual in media matters. - Rick the Rat in Stafford (6/4/10) Did CBS impose an "Um" jar on Mike Wise with his new contract? Wise has to drop $5 in jar each time he says "Um" or "Ah" with the proceeds of the jar going to the home for wayward disc jockeys. (6/4/10) Never seen him on local Baltimore TV news shows, but here's John Waters at the Santoni's grocery store in Baltimore shopping with Santa... (6/4/10) Totally agree with OOBBEE, its was GREAT to hear the REAL Dukes on TMOS. O'Meara has a good thing going on the podcast, everyone can be open and more free to do what they do. The show is really getting strong! Hearing Chad on the TMOS reminded me what is so great about his talent, talent that is getting totally wasted having to carry an inarticulate ex-jock on an all-sports format. VIVA Mike O'Meara, Buzz, Robb, Oscar, and the real Pad Fukes! (6/4/10) As newly appointed mailbag censor, our first act is to have the poorly Photoshopped Geronimo/Pinocchio removed. -TOGS (6/4/10) from USATODAY: www.usatoday.com... TNT, Sunday inheriting NASCAR Sprint Cup race coverage from Fox, will add new faces and features. Lindsay Czarniak, a sports anchor and reporter for NBC's Washington, D.C. affiliate, becomes the most prominent female face in NASCAR race coverage as TNT's new prerace host — and will pop up on-air during races. (6/4/10) Great stuff with Fad Pukes on the MOS podcast today. Real, honest banter. Chad had to bite his tongue a few times about current situation (Pays the bills, hard to stomach was implied) but fully explained his choices. Kudos for all the gang’s openness. They talked about the greatest day in Washington radio when the Junks were at the JPO......I was riveted all day back when. I just signed up for Mike's VIP level shows. I hope Chad makes it to some of these shows as promised. Just to hear “Snacks” once a month is worth the $49 with Chad’s real personality and not the one on the new JFK is worth it. Only thing missing for me was grab T shirt…. I love the idea of the MOS website growing with more individual content too. Lots of talent for just one hour a day. OOBBEE (6/4/10) Don Geronimo moving to Sacramento? Just sayin' AHHHH-COME CLEAN (6/4/10) In a sit-down meeting held Thursday afternoon, Clear Channel account executives were told NOT TO COMPLY with the brawl investigation involving a major market manager and one of the salespeople whose shoulder was dislocated in April last year. We were told in no uncertain terms that we were to act totally ignorant of the activities (known by now to virtually the entire staff) and that any identified compliance on any one's part would have severe ramifications. We are counting on you to print this so we can send it anonymously to HR after this "investigation" takes place, presumably with the investigators leaving with no more information than when they arrived, by virtue of the fear instilled in the Clear Channel DC staff. (6/4/10) /\ June 4 Messages /\ \/ June 3 Messages \/ Major fail by the Washington Post as they are premature with the announcement of the death of legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden. 30 minutes later after being alerted by FB and Twitter postings they pull the story. (6/3/10) "CAN WE JUST HAVE A NEW DCRTV RULE... BAN ALL POSTS THAT MENTION THE WORD "BICKNELL" or "Davey Jones"" --Agreed, but I'd like to expand on the ban to include "AHHH", "KHZTV", as well as any mention of "Mike Sorce", "Don Geronimo", and "Sacramento". (6/3/10) CAN WE JUST HAVE A NEW DCRTV RULE... BAN ALL POSTS THAT MENTION THE WORD "BICKNELL" or "Davey Jones", which of course nobody knows except him and the 2-3 people arguing with him! I think that's a no-brainer. LOL (6/3/10) On my, that is wonderful news! The Bickersons back on the radio! Why I haven't heard Mr. & Mrs. Bickerson on the radio since the late 1940's, this is going to be...huh?...what?...it's the Bicknells? Sorry, never heard of them. Nevermind. I'm going back to watching YouPorn on my work computer TYVM (6/3/10) More thoughts on WAGE 1190 and 50kw thing... Some of the comments in the mailbag forget that AM 1190 was a Fort Wayne Indiana CLEAR frequency for a long time until the New York 1190 deal was struck. So I think WAGE has some nighttime wiggle room, so I have a feeling there will be a NEW nighttime FCC app from the new site now that it's approved. But, I wouldn't expect much Loudoun County programming. And finally, YOU DIDN'T POST MY JOHN WATERS / SANTA CLAUS PIC DAVE HUGHES DAMNIT! LOL Geez, I typed all that for nothing. (6/3/10) Dave's response: I don't remember seeing it..... Since the People Meter system was introduced, I've learned TWO THINGS... #1 the ratings fluctuate wildly from month to month because people are like that in general, and #2 the ratings are overall more accurate at the time, but need to be analyzed in a longer period than just ONE MONTH because of #1. I don't think advertisers have yet to catch on to that yet. (6/3/10) Was just listening to 1590 in Glen Burnie, currently using the call sign WFBR. They play some good soul music when they're not preaching. The announcer said that the station had just received notification from the FAA that the station must cease flying its unlicensed airplane. But, the announcer said, they will fly on Friday as usual so look in the sky over your neighborhood. Unlicensed aircraft? Sounds like a good reason to stay away from the Baltimore area on Friday. (6/3/10) Happy Billy Joe McAllister Day to one and all! It is, after all, the third of June, another sleepy, dusty, delta day.... (Get it, Dave?) (6/3/10) "Who is this Mr. Bicknell you reference?" -This is easy to answer. He is a washed up, relatively unknown DJ who has been lowered to doing radio from a pay-by-the-hour station in Pasadena, MD. The good news is that his wife also does radio from that very same station. And, well...let's just say she has all the talent in that household. Hope that answers your question. (6/3/10) RE: [So either you have to accept their argument that the average American is too stupid to separate fact from BS] Heavens no. Your "average" American is most definitely smart enough to tell the difference between accurate news and propaganda. What scares the shit out of us "average" Americans is the gullibility, stupidity, armchair-jingoistic-patriotism, paranoid xenophobia, covert racism and unrestrained seething hatred of every political idea to the left of Sarah Palin that is currently exhibited by the self-described "great" Americans who listen to AM630 between the hours of 9AM and 10PM. Those are the hours when the MAL programming is specifically targeted to strike the tuning fork in the stupid, angry, paranoid and weak. (6/3/10) Sorce to Relocate to Sacramento:: On Carmichael Dave's radio show Wednesday May 26, 2010, Geronimo said he plans to move to Sacramento "in five or six months." Tick-tock Sorce.The Don Geronimo Summer of Truth Campaign coming soon to DCRTV. Who is this Mr. Bicknell you reference? AHHHHH-CHOO (6/3/10) "Will the real Mr. Bicknell please stand-up? We're so confused" Signed Don & Jan Sorce - not! (6/3/10) Let's sort this WMDO-47 and WZDC-64 problem out. I believe WMDO is now a digital-only station on real (and virtual) Ch 47, meaning using the set-top converter will get you that channel. (But note the disclaimer at the end!) I believe WZDC is analog only on real Ch 64, so you would get it WITHOUT the set-top converter, just like the old days. (But note the disclaimer here too!) Here is the disclaimer: If you live more than a mile or two outside the Beltway or even some places inside the Beltway, I doubt you will get either of them. However if you live, let's say, 2 miles from the transmitters, they will both come in beautifully. WFDC-14 comes in great because it is a full-power station as Virtual Channel 14. -- Carl in Olney (6/3/10) Dave's response: I believe that WMDO's digital signal is on channel 8. But, again, it's low power and very weak in most locations. Univision affiliate WFDC is the region's only full power Spanish TVer. For reliable reception of DC's Spanish TVers you gotta go with basic cable..... "Dave's response: Yes. Mr. Bicknell asked for the removal of several posts, including one that bore his initials that he claims he did not author...." --Thank you, Dave for confirming that Mr. Bicknell was, in fact, AHHHH. (6/3/10) Hey Dave, Don't you think it is time to change those 20 year old pictures to something more current? Steve (6/3/10) Mix 107.3's Tommy McFly does NewsChannel 8. (6/3/10) "FCC to monitor 'hate speech'...? So can we call the FCC and report MSNBC, CNN or NPR when they spew biased lefty-liberal hate speech? (6/3/10) Now Dave, Bicknell wouldn't have instructed you to remove my posts, now did he? Hmmmm...what's he scared of? (6/3/10) Dave's response: Yes. Mr. Bicknell asked for the removal of several posts, including one that bore his initials that he claims he did not author..... Dave - I'd like to know if you or anyone in the DCRTV community know anything about how to get over-the-air signals for WMDO and WZDC, those would be the analog stations of Telefutura and Telemundo. Before you or anyone rips me, let me just say that yes I still have "bunny ears" that I use with my government funded digital box for my sweet 27" GE tube - lol! With the world cup a week away, I'd like to know if there's any chance I can get these channels at my home. Univision comes in nice and strong and they'll be carrying a lot of the live games, but it would be nice to get these stations as well. Is it even possible to get either of these analog over the air signals with a digital conversion box? Or am I doomed to sell out to the man (comcast/verizon). Many thanks! Sergio (6/3/10) Dave's response: Both are low-power stations and probably a tough digital catch over the air..... Don Geronimo - Been a few days from the DCRTV jungle. See that BP still hasn't stopped the leak in the gulf and racked up over 760 oil rig violations past 3 years. Wonder how many DCRTV violations these posts have wracked up? Shit, as it pertains to DG, just consider [us] your DCRTV relief-valve of comedy and insight into a talented but very polarizing figure. Like LA Times T.J. Simers' provocative sports commentary especially when he dogged LA Dodger FP Santangello for an entire season - same difference. See Mike Sorce hasn't moved to Sacramento yet. See Gary Coleman died. True story, you know Steve Martin felt so bad for Coleman that he personally hired him as a security guard while making Bowfinger. Speaking of desperate careers, see Sorce hasn't moved to Sacramento yet. What you talkin' about Willis! See that [we] got seriously called out on this mailbag.Wow! Being called out by that douche now is like when we were both in high school and he walked-in and caught me banging his mom. At first is was flattering being yelled at in mid-hump but then dude had to leave because all I wanted to do was "finish." ... Still see Mike Sorce hasn't move to SacTown yet. Maybe the TJ Simers analogy isn't correct. Maybe [we] and our posts are more like NY Gov David Patterson - keeping one eye on radio/tv trends/viral media business opportunities and the other eye and Geronimo's career and personal spiral. See new season of Cake Boss started - so wanna put my canoli in Mrs Cake Boss's cream puff. Oh wait, we may be female posters in which the prior scenario won't work. In any case, see Mike Sorce still hasn't moved to Sacramento yet. See that fish emulsion and sea kelp is great for my garden... Still see o' tanny boy Sorce hasn't moved to California's state capitol yet. He wouldn't be a liar would he? Stay tuned! AHHHHH (6/3/10) (regarding the DCRTV Plus Flashback) I remember when WEAM ran a promotion, where they would call people at random and if you answered your phone, "The-New WEAM" you'd win a prize or money. (I forget which) since it was in the late 50s or very early 60s and I was quite young. (6/3/10) I have my doubts that the proposed 1300 watt 4 tower DA for WAGE will ever be built now that the 50 kw day site has been approved by the county. The proposed 1190 night opeartion has less coverage than the 1200 1KW night signal due to the higher NIF contour (14.5mv/m). The proposed night opeartion barely covers the city of Leesburg, with deep nulls toward NYC and Ft. Wayne, IN. Look for an application in the future to change the COL to a city in the eastern part of the county say Sterling, Herndon etc and to move the night operation to the day site and add a few more towers with a power increase to around 5 KW.(similiar to the CP for 7KW that was granted for the Annapolis location a few years ago)This would make WAGE a rimshot AM for DC and they would have no problem putting the studio at WUST. I don't think this will be a locally oriented Loudoun county station, If they wanted that they would have been better off to leave the facility as it was on 1200. The 5 KW daytime signal on 1200 provided a 5mv/m signal over almost all of the county not just the eastern half and over 100mv/m over the city of license. The proposed 50 KW, 5mv/m signal barely coveres the city of Leesburg, so many days just after sunrise and just before sunset the signal will be vunarable to skywave interference in and near the city of license. I would imagine that there will be so people in the western part of the county that will find the NEW 1190 WAGE signal a bit weak, if even listenable at all. Who listens to AM radio out to the .5mv/m contour anymore?(except us radio geeks) All I can say is good luck to anyone wants to spend this much money on horse and buggy technology such as AM Radio. (6/3/10) Dave, Verizon opening a FiOS store at Chevy Chase Pavilion is BRILLIANT. That has always been my hotel of choice when visiting the area and there is nothing more convenient than CCP in the NW corner. I suspect that a lot of DCers will find FiOS user-friendly and perhaps more cost effective than Comcast. Eric O'Brien, Editor/Owner/Webmaster, Pittsburgh Radio and TV Online, www.pbrtv.com (6/3/10) re: WTOP's morning drive team wore their pajamas TODAY! Anyone got a who's who caption? (6/3/10) The TOP team looks like their speech impediments….OOBBEE (6/3/10) (RE: "3000 watts just can't compete with Tropo though - check out the forecast here - www.dxinfocentre.com - gonna be interesting listening the next few days") Hell, 50,000 watts was NO match for the tropo lastnight. I was in White Marsh and 102.7 was being killed by some country station ( I could not listen long enough for an ID). I was even getting the 3,000 watt stations from the Eastern Shore. I did hear something funny, WSIX came in over 98 ROCK for 3 minutes! Viva 100,000 watt FM power from Nashville! (6/3/10) Dave, Interesting to read your speculation that Weitzman may move WAGE to WUST's facility in Falls Church. I uncovered some evidence that shows WAGE was granted a change in frequency to 1190 (from 1200), which ironically is on the same frequency as WBIS in Annapolis, another Weitzman-owned station (albeit under the auspices of Nation's Radio, LLC, a subsidiary of Potomac Radio). I also read that once WAGE goes back on the air, WBIS wil have to shut down due to their sharing a frequency. WBIS does brokered and syndicated business-related programming. My guess is that WAGE will become the new WBIS, since WAGE will have a 50,000 watt signal, as opposed to WBIS' 10,000 watts. What do you think? Here's the link to my blog post with my speculation: www.loudounprogress.us... Best, Dave Nemetz, Leesburg (6/3/10) Dave's response: Yeah, whether WAGE becomes "the new WBIS" or "more WUST," I don't think we're gonna get the old local Loudoun-based talker back. Those times have passed, sadly..... I am hard of hearing, overweight, haven’t been to the dentist or had a physical in decades, have a slow computer because I never heard of spybot, are afraid to try gotomeeting.com, hate Obama, trust Sarah Palin to make sane drilling choices close to the Louisiana shoreline, believe everything the Tea Party stands for, believe Michelle Bachmann is a great American, love Ronald Reagan, and I don’t believe in global warming. Can anyone out there tell me is their any radio station that targets my demographic? (6/3/10) Sara Walsh, formerly of W*USA9, has joined ESPN as anchor. She will contribute to "SportsCenter" and ESPNEWS. Walsh made her debut on ESPNEWS last night. (6/3/10) "Comcast has completed the digital conversion thingo at all of its systems that use Motorola boxes, and is now moving to switch over its systems that use Scientific Atlanta boxes. Reston was the first area SciAtl system converted. With Arlington, Alexandria, Howard, Baltimore city, Prince William, and many of the former Adelphia systems in Northern Virginia next in line." Comcast completed its digital conversion in Baltimore City in early May. We have motorola boxes. (6/3/10) “A coalition of more than 30 organizations argue in a letter to the FCC that the internet has made it harder for the public to separate the facts from bigotry masquerading as news. The groups also charge that syndicated radio and cable television programs "masquerading as news"” So either you have to accept their argument that the average American is too stupid to separate fact from BS and therefore some genius bureaucrat needs to do it for us, or they cannot be honest and say their true intention is to control content, content they don’t like or cannot intellectually counter. It’s never enough for these bastards, always looking for new ways for big brother to control simple aspects of daily life. God people…when is enough, enough?? (6/3/10) WTOP's morning drive team wore their pajamas TODAY! This Saturday when thousands show up on the mall for the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure, TEAM WTOP will be sleeping in. Today they had a dress rehearsal and had their listeners vote for the best pajamas while encouraging them to contribute online to fight breast cancer. (6/3/10) To: Unsigned Corporate Suit, I got the Insignia HD radio at Best buy for $49 several months ago. Works great in Baltimore and DC. $39 is even better. That has been the price for some time. Get one while they still sell them. To: KHZTV, use your video feed. I enjoy watching PLB scratch himself, but others might like some action. Maybe Paul and Renee (married, you know) could have sex during their change over at noon. That would beat 104.3. Embrace the video - - at least get some dancers, or run some of the stuff that you send in your e-mails. Have Jay perform open heart surgery with an Edit-All. Anything. Ed Graham (6/3/10) 1- what was so cringe worthy of Geronimo's call in to KHTK a few days ago? Still don't get the venom. 2- Junks should be higher on Len's list. They are good. 3- 105.9 the edge- That's a station that is cringe worthy. Will they every get their shit together musically? 4- O'Meara podcast. He is selling his motorcycle to a listener because he needs the $$$? Sad, really. 5- WTOP still dominates because no one tries to compete with them. (6/3/10) Dave's response: I still think it's a great idea - a stripped down traffic, weather, and news headline outlet on CBS's 94.7 as "News 24/7 On 94.7"..... (From a June 2 posting) I wouldn't bet on WAGE having main studios at Crimmins Lane - your main studio needs to be within 25 miles of your city of license (end quote) True, but nothing says you cannot broadcast from an auxiliary studio in perpetuity, as long as a "main studio" - lit up and passing signal - is maintained in or near the city of license. WDMV did this for a long time with active working studios in Fairfax and the city of license in Walkersville MD (51 miles by road). Prior to that, the old Wisconsin Ave studios a block away from Channel 5 were 47 miles from the stick. Where was the "main studio"? Some say the transmitter site itself, some have suggested it was a back room with a computer at an attorney's office. And since the technology has changed, what is the legal definition of a "main studio"? The process is kinda repulsive, but its legal. (6/3/10) "Last Supper" or complete disregard for state of financial affairs? See below from media bistro. Is Sam Dealey a complete ass or does he know someting that we don't? How does he have the balls to eat lunch at The Palm, then email about it? Is it possible that the current offer is being taken and he doesn't care, or, is he non plussed about the current financial mess that the paper is in and just doesn''t care? We assumed that he expensed the lunch! - Which newspaper editor was spotted outside The Palm this afternoon in Dupont Circle in a dark suit chatting away in the blistering sun? None other than the clean-cut TWT Editor Sam Dealey. He was seen leaving the restaurant and appeared to be in good spirits. The Palm is among Dealey's favorite lunch spots. What he ate: "A blackened ribeye over caesar and iced tea," he wrote to FishbowlDC when asked for the contents of his lunch. "It has the semblance of being healthy without really being so. And I had Tommy's good cheer." (Tommy is The Palm's Executive Director, Tommy Jacomo.) (6/3/10) Dave, what did you think of the Post's take on things yesterday? What happened to John Solomon? Did he make an offer or was he just giving lip service to his mutual admiration society and really didn't have the resources to make an offer? The Post says he is no longer in ther running. Where in the world is former editor, John Solomon? (6/3/10) Dave's response: Hmmm..... Think he'll still be on KHTK come Labor Day? I seriously dunno. A cringe inducing call in yesterday: khtk.cbslocal.com (6/3/10) RE: John Waters and Baltimore TV... Waters has rarely ever been on any Baltimore local TV news stations that I can remember. I've lived here my entire life and I can't remember the last time I've seen him on local TV here (scratches head). I've seen him in a grocery store, and on David Letterman & Leno, but never on local Baltimore TV. I'm sure he'd love to make fun of Captain Chesapeake in a movie though (who was a notorious drunk from what I've heard but he's deceased so we don't speak ill of the dead, oops I just did, sorry). But, since Sinclair ran the anti-John Kerry documentary and is a VERY CONSERVATIVE company (more so than even FOX NEWS! LOL), it would not surprise me if Sinclair and John Waters had a dust up over Captain Chesapeake. I'm told, if you manage to hit the right day/hour, John Waters and some of his cohorts can be found at The Club Charles on Charles Street in downtown Baltimore every now and then. I'm not sure if that's still true (since I heard that years ago), but that's where they all used to hang out. It's technically not a gay bar, just art deco ugly and lots of sketchy gay guys there and it's the perfect place for Waters to hang out, there's just so many people to make fun of. LOL Here's a somewhat recent pic of John Waters a friend ( Baltimore Media Blog ) took last Christmas at the Santoni's grocery store in Baltimore's Highlandtown area so he is still around and alive and kicking with SANTA LOL... (6/3/10) OK so it's my first post on here...but someone please verify I'm not going insane. On my commute home through Fairfax and Falls Church around 6:30 to 7:00 PM, I was getting Majic 102.7 in Miami and Star 102.1 in Kansas City -- and coming in pretty sharp at points, obviously fighting with the 102.7 Jack-FM signal out of Baltimore pretty well. Conditions faded after nightfall. Freakiest FM experience I've ever had! (6/3/10) Re: Dave's response: "Yeah, you probably can hear KHTK in San Francisco (daytime plot at radio-locator.com), but I don't think it gets any significant ratings in the Bay Area....." You would be correct, Dave, though there were some D&M listeners who turned to KHTK when the show's Bay Area affiliate dropped it, and some folks in the far East Bay listen to KHTK. KHTK also has secondary listenership south of Sacramento, in the separate Stockton and Modesto markets. They are combined in the TV market, but separate radio markets from Sacramento... (6/3/10) FIOS HD, some changes are coming. Notice from Verizon, west coast feeds for two of the Cmax channels and two of The Movie Channels, will be deleted 21 June 2010. So maybe this will help get MASN 2 HD on locally. (6/3/10) (Did anyone else completely lose the ESPN 980 signal tonight? The 92.7 frequency was taken over by Wave 92.7 The Wave (Country?) and the only way to pick up 980 was AM. Dan, throw a couple of bucks at a new transmitter! Sheesh!) -- Not Dan's fault. FM propagation goes crazy a bit around the summer solstice. Sometimes a distant station has a more powerful signal focused on your area. GAB in the Airless Cubicle (6/3/10) (The 92.7 frequency was taken over by Wave 92.7 The Wave (Country?) and the only way to pick up 980 was AM. Dan, throw a couple of bucks at a new transmitter! Sheesh!) OK - let's blame Dan Snyder for Tropo now! WWXX is happily putting out it's 3000 watts, as it should, each and every day. 3000 watts just can't compete with Tropo though - check out the forecast here - www.dxinfocentre.com - gonna be interesting listening the next few days! (6/3/10) To everyone who noticed that your local FM stations were cutting in and out today...It happens every summer. It is called "ducting." Random stations signals get trapped between layers of the ionosphere and land many miles away from their regular destination. Had you dialed around, it is likely that you could have received Houston better than DC and some of the rim-shots around us were totally wiped out. I was getting a lot of picket-fencing on WAMU today. Back in the day, I would have gone into a DX frenzy. Today, I want to satellite. John (6/3/10) Dave, I just saw a promo on MASN that Steven Strasburg’s debut for the Nationals on Tuesday will be carried on MASN 2. That means a huge part of the audience on Verizon Fios will not see the game in High Def. because Fios doesn’t carry MASN 2 in HD. Instead, the largest television audience in MASN history will watch the game in fuzzy analog. What programming genius made that decision? If I were MASN I would be switching their coverage to provide the best broadcast they can. It’s a HUGE opportunity for both MASN and the Nationals to show off their best, and build an audience. As Charlie Slowes would say, “Unbelievable!” (6/3/10) Someone asked, yes, WBIS 1190 Annapolis will soon go silent. The interesting part is that the Baltimore/Annapolis market loses an AM radio station to DC and a new WAGE 1190 will be resurrected and I think that part of the story has been completely missed. WBIS has been on Special Temporary Authority for nearly a decade and hasn't had a permanent transmitter site for as long as I can remember. I think they're using the WNAV AM 1430 site now, but I'm not sure but I think Pat Sajak will lose a few bucks, hehe. All plans to build a 50kw WBIS have failed around Baltimore. There were a bunch, but financing and the interference to WAGE 1200 was always a problem. At one point, WBIS had a 50kw daytime and a nighttime construction permit for 50kw/7700 watts from 2 sites, one the old WCBM site (now WVIE 1370) in Pikesville and the other near a landfill in Glen Burnie, but they never followed through on it. Overall I think this is a good thing. I just hope they file an FCC app for more nighttime power than 1300 watts. WBIS 1190 Annapolis already had approval for 7700 watts from Pikesville. (SEE PICS)... Daytime/Nighttime... This will be a good thing for DC and make the station more viable for more than just brokered programming. As for Loudoun County, I posted this on the Loudoun site in support of the zoning proposal... "Technically, the Loudoun zoning board has no authority to control radio programming, just the legality of building the towers in that place so the entire discussion of that is just ridiculous. Even the FCC doesn't control programming other than to police profanity. In fact, it would be illegal for the zoning board to make specific programming requirements and would result in an FCC fine to the owners of WAGE if such an agreement were made. Those are the rules, I don't make them up. Maybe programming rules should be changed, but it's the current law as we stand here and discuss this so the WAGE proposal should and has been approved as it was. And the environmental concerns are also ridiculous. Blue Herons are not an endangered species and there are radio towers all over the world in flood plain zones. This whole ordeal was more like a red herring if anything constructed by NIMBYS as usual! By the way, THE NEW WAGE 1190 will be a MONSTER 50,000 watt daytime AM signal reaching even to Baltimore and obviously the entire DC region!" Here's the NEW near blowtorch WAGE 1190 daytime signal plot come next fall. (notice that includes Frederick, Fredericksburg, way out west in Virginia and even reaches Annapolis and even BALTIMORE! It will be a great AM signal, rivaling WMAL 630 and WFED 1500 and WTEM 980 at least daytime)... Comparatively here's WMAL 630... WMAL Signal Plot... And here's WFED 1500... WFED Signal Plot... And here's WTEM 980... WTEM Signal Plot... -- Joe in Essex (6/3/10) /\ June 3 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....